I have often agreed with many we could lift the tax on food, fund education and fix our roads if we just lifted some tax exemptions. This is total exemptions from a report from January 2013: (Doc: SummaryofStateSalesTaxExemptions0113Â )
I decided to cherry pick the ones I think should be lifted, which would total an estimated $60,137,00. There are many others that deal with agriculture, but I left them out, because I believe if there is an end sale, it shouldn’t be taxed.
The two that amaze me the most are hunting lodges, general lodging and advertising. I work in printing and advertising, and have often been confused that we can charge a tax for printing a tangible postcard, a form of advertising, but not a placement ad. Seems like a double standard to me.
Nice link. Whered ya find it.
Take a gander at the amount of taxes being washed away for the exemption on fertilizer.
The state gives away $600 million a year in business tax loopholes, more than enough to fund everything, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting if I was you.
DL – as a contractor I have to pay sales tax on the materials I buy to put into a project/product that will be “resold” (lumber, caulk, doors, windows, paint nails, plumbing parts etc.). See if you can justify that with exempting ag materials from sales tax (feed, minerals, repairs to equipment, and so on) because their product will eventually be “resold”.
Good luck.
Good point Ruf!
Speaking of exemptions or where the money should really go to … Did you see the 2014 SD Lottery report .. 90% ($90 million) goes to the Property Tax Reduction fund? Where do teachers and schools get funded from? http://lottery.sd.gov/about/reports/documents/AnnualReportFY2014.pdf
Lyon Co does it a little different with Grand Falls. The Lyon County Riverboat foundation is set up to give half of the money in grants to county government subdivisions and schools, and half in a competitive grant process to non-profit projects.
http://kiwaradio.com/local-news/lyon-county-government-continues-to-win-with-riverboat-foundation-grants/