Letter - John McEnelly

Posted

To the Editor:
Because of a recent Supreme Court ruling, South Dakota is about to receive about $55 million from Internet sales tax in 2019.
Candidate Noem proposed a .5 percent drop in the state’s sales tax. As Governor Noem, I hope she might reconsider. All tax cuts are a good thing right? Still, is such a tax cut meaningful to individual South Dakotans?

A $100 purchase would result in a 50-cent sales tax savings. I think $55 million can do some sincere good; just maybe not as Candidate Noem proposed.
Historically, South Dakota’s legislature has woefully underfunded education. We need not to be known as the state that least supports education and educators! Let’s put the  .5 percent sales tax rise intended for education, and all the Internet sales tax revenue into a fund specifically devoted to education.
As our economy grows, so will revenue. The Internet’s  share of the retail market has not peaked. This means that South Dakota’s financial support for education will grow accordingly. I doubt very much that this proposal will eliminate property taxes, but one would expect increases to slow.
Why create a separate fund? Transparency.
John McEnelly
Huron