SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) -The Senate Local Government Committee today passed a measure that will allow towns with less than 25,000 residents to increase the sales tax a penny for infrastructure projects.
A Keystone businessman says his small town faces the wear and tear of tourists six months a year.
Quinn Neff says not being able to share large infrastructure costs with the visitors that put a majority of demand on a town's infrastructure, which also requires large infrastructure, doesn't make sense.
JimTerwilliger with the State Budget Office says South Dakota's sales tax on most goods and services is 6%. Terwilliger says in some towns, the sales tax can climb to 8 1/2% with special allowances available to towns and industries. He says there's only so much capacity in the sales tax system in the long term and he says it's been eroded over the years.
The town's sales tax increase has to be approved in a public vote. The measure earlier passed the House 37 to 30.