South Dakota Sales Tax Increase Vote In November

South Dakota voters get to mull over a proposed sales tax increase for a few months. Come November, they will be given the opportunity to increase the sales tax by one penny.  Called the “South Dakota Sales Tax Increase Measure” the increase was proposed by Moving South Dakota Forward.

The reason they support a sales tax increase? “The group argues that South Dakota has seen dramatic cuts to education and Medicaid.” Last November, the group “…brought the secretary of state nearly 34,000 signatures, more than double the 15,855 required to put the measure on the November 2012 ballot.”

Campaign manager, Andy Wiese “…said the group was surprised by the outpouring of support for the measure, which would raise the state’s sales tax from 4 percent to 5 percent.”

The sales tax increase would be expected to bring in an additional $180 million that would be split evenly between K-12 education and Medicaid funding.

The proposal has now officially passed the signature certification process to be included on the November 2012 general election ballot. The proposal and measure have been in the works for a while. Read more in our September 2011 blog on the proposed measure.