Budget & Taxes

This bill increases the property tax exemption amount for disabled veterans and surviving spouses in South Dakota. Currently, $350,000 of a home's value is exempt from property taxes under the program; the bill raises this amount but does not specify the new figure in the provided text. It directly affects veterans rated permanently and totally disabled from service-connected disabilities, as well as surviving spouses of such veterans. The change would lower property tax bills for eligible homeowners without altering application requirements or eligibility criteria.

SB 191 removes the ability for local governments (counties or municipalities) to issue grants as part of a tax increment financing district. The bill amends South Dakota law by deleting the provision that allowed "payments and grants" to be included in "project costs" for these districts. This change specifically eliminates the authorization for governing bodies to use district funds for grants, restricting allowable uses to direct project costs like construction, bonds, or professional services. The bill affects how local governments can fund redevelopment projects within designated tax increment districts.

SB 18 repeals a requirement that banks add back to their South Dakota franchise tax base any bad debt deductions they claimed on federal tax returns but later determined were not actually worthless. This change eliminates the need for banks to adjust their state taxable income for "recovered" bad debts, potentially lowering their tax burden. The bill directly affects banks operating in South Dakota subject to the state's franchise tax on banking activities. It removes specific provisions in the tax code that previously mandated this adjustment for bad debt accounting.

This bill (SB 58) modifies South Dakota's property tax code to eliminate a specific county road maintenance levy. It amends Section 10-12-13 to reduce the maximum annual tax levy for county highway and bridge reserve funds from $0.90-$1.20 per $1,000 of taxable value to $0.00 per $1,000. This change directly affects counties that previously used this levy to fund road maintenance, requiring them to find alternative funding sources for highway and bridge projects. The bill does not alter general property tax rates or other levy types; it specifically targets the road maintenance tax provision.

SCR 601 is a symbolic Senate Concurrent Resolution (not a binding law) introduced by Senator Carley. It urges South Dakota to pursue economic policies aligned with "free market principles," emphasizing limited government, deregulation, and low taxes over tax incentives or subsidies for businesses. The resolution argues that government should only protect rights and avoid competing with private enterprise, instead focusing on "organic entrepreneurial growth." It directly affects state legislative and executive policy development by advocating for a specific philosophical approach to economic growth.