Let’s face it, taxing poor people to pay for an events center they will never be able to afford to visit is discrimination, plain and simple, yet it doesn’t stop our city leaders from pushing this stupid idea. This letter to the editor says it all;
Unfortunately, the current and proposed sales taxes already impact poor and moderate-income folks disproportionately. They pay a significantly higher percentage of their already strained incomes on food and other necessities. This includes baby food and food for older children.
As of May, Sioux Falls had 37 percent of its school children on free and reduced-price lunches. That percentage probably is higher now. South Dakota is 49th in hourly wages.
The Food Pantry in Sioux Falls is reporting a 70 percent increase in requests for food during the past 18 months. We need to eliminate the sales tax on food altogether. To consider raising it again is unthinkable and immoral.
This chart shows the percentage of income paid in taxes compared to what you make. As you can see most of South Dakotans are submitting over 10% of there income to local taxes. Couple that with Federal income taxes and you are looking at a staggering amount of taxes. We must stop the retail tax increase to build the events center, especially on food (Thanks to Bread for the World for the Chart)
