South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

food tax

food tax Kermit Staggers State Legislature

Kermit Staggers the first Republican to try to cut the food tax 20 years ago

l3wis 1Comments

There has always been a long standing tradition of our local media throwing the good professor under the bus, even after he died, there is still an effort to paint Kermit as too fiscally conservative, yet over 20 years ago when he served in the legislature, he tried to cut the food tax by 50%;

2001 

Senator Kermit Staggers, a Sioux Falls Republican, proposed reducing the state sales tax on food to 2% from the then-4% rate. The Senate Taxation Committee killed it 5-4. SB 171

2002 

Senator Staggers again proposed reducing the state sales tax on food to 2% from the then-4% rate. The Senate State Affairs Committee killed it 6-2. SB 67 

Staggers also led a small bipartisan group of lawmakers who wanted to exempt food from the state sales tax in North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes. The Senate Taxation Committee killed it 7-1. SB 116

Even when Kermit served on the city council he fought against tax and fee increases. Kermit had a big heart, and he always looked after the working class of this state and city. Funny how twenty years ago Staggers had the vision that the food tax was regressive. This coming from a supposed extreme conservative.

I was surprised the media didn’t use this information to further criticize him, maybe 20 years is too soon?

David ZoKaites Food Food Stamps food tax Sioux Falls

Ending Food Deserts

l3wis 22Comments

Guest Post by by David Z for Mayor and Patricia Lucas

I want Sioux Falls to be a thriving, robust city with healthy citizens. Healthy citizens need a nutritious diet based on regular access to fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat.

This goal has become increasingly challenging. In our state of South Dakota, one out of nine individuals is food insecure and one of every six children is at risk of going hungry. The closure of grocery stores, higher cost of food, transportation limitations, and the COVID pandemic make the problem of food access critical. Some areas of Sioux Falls don’t have nearby supermarkets – they are food deserts. Food deserts occur most often in rundown parts of a city when grocery stores move away from high crime and low income areas. The HyVee on Kiwanis Avenue recently closed creating a food desert.

A former manager of this supermarket commented on www.reddit.com that the closure of this store “will undoubtedly impact countless families and individuals who shopped there on a highly consistent basis. A majority of the clientele were elderly, disabled, and lower income shoppers who may already have a difficult time in getting to the grocery store, especially in frigid winter months … it really is leaving behind a food desert.”

This is a crisis for our city of Sioux Falls. Malnourished people can become obese, have heart disease, and suffer from type 2 diabetes. Children can suffer even more. Hunger can slow their mental and physical development. They don’t do well in school and have lower graduation rates. Hungry children often don’t reach their full potential and remain disadvantaged during adulthood. Hunger results in reduced health and that increases medical costs and expensive emergency room visits.

A short term solution for hunger is providing food access through charities and government programs like food stamps and subsidized school lunches. While these excellent programs solve critical needs, they don’t solve the whole problem. We can make food more affordable by removing the sales tax on food. City government can subsidize placing grocery stores in food deserts and thereby increase local access to healthy nutritious food at reasonable cost. Urban agriculture can provide gardeners with delightful fresh fruits and vegetables. We can support the health and welfare of Sioux Falls by investing in our citizens of all ages, sexes, income levels, and races. We improve the present and build the future. Let’s solve local hunger together.

food tax Taxes

GROCERY SHOPPERS PAID MORE FOR THEIR FOOD . . .

l3wis 5Comments

GROCERY SHOPPERS PAID MORE FOR THEIR FOOD

TO MAKE POSSIBLE SD’S SUCCESS AT THE SUPREME COURT

For 14 years South Dakotans have been paying higher tax on their groceries in order to make it possible for South Dakota to win its tax case in the Supreme Court.

How did this happen? The preparation for the state to collect sales tax on online sales caused a significant hike in the food tax. It did not cause a tax increase on any other purchases, only food.

Before 2003, South Dakota cities had been limited to 1% tax on food. Then, tax “streamlining” rules were needed in order to position the state to tax online sales. The new rules said each city may have only one sales tax rate, even though the rules allowed the state itself to have a lower rate on food, even zero tax.

With the new rules, cities’ food taxes rose from 1% to 2% in most South Dakota cities, rather than lowering the tax on other things to match the 1% on food. Some cities had not been taxing on food at all, such as Rapid City, Mitchell, Spearfish, Pierre, New Underwood, and Wentworth. They were forced to start taxing groceries.

“The higher food tax has meant South Dakotans have been paying more for every breakfast, lunch and dinner for 14 years now to help win the Supreme Court case on collecting online sales tax,” says Cathy Brechtelsbauer, state coordinator for Bread for the World.

“We saw it coming back then. Some legislators told us they would cut the food tax when the state finally receives tax from online sales,” she remembers, “so the next legislature should recognize the contribution grocery shoppers have made to this Supreme Court success and make the next tax cut a cut in the food tax.”

With cities still allowed only one tax rate, a food tax cut would need to be a reduction in the state’s portion of the sales tax.

News release, June 25, 2018

BREAD FOR THE WORLD -SOUTH DAKOTA

Cathy Brechtelsbauer, state coordinator, 605-335-6222, ryebread@breadrising.org

DaCola Note; This is one of the reasons I objected the half-cent increase in sales taxes to pay teachers. I found it counter productive to increase taxes on food to pay educators more. I would propose a total tax ban on food, not just a decrease. I know this has gone to the voters twice already and failed, but with the SCOTUS ruling I think this would be the perfect opportunity to end the food tax. I also think the state legislature should end exemptions on certain items that are not taxed now, like advertising. I have also argued that this won’t help main street businesses one iota. Even by taxing online items and essentially increasing the costs of those items so they can implement new accounting software, online shopping will still be less expensive due to volume, and more convenient because of choices. I also think the money raised by the state in new taxes will quickly be ate up by expanding government agencies that will be responsible in collecting these taxes. At the end of the day we have accomplished nothing but increasing prices for consumers to grow government. Thanks Marty Jackley and Deb Peters, for nothing.

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