Real Property Tax Relief

 
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
April 4, 2025  

Now that the legislative session is in the rearview mirror, I’m focused on looking forward and unlocking new opportunities for South Dakota. We had a historic 100^th legislative session, and we accomplished a lot for the people of South Dakota – but there’s more work to do!

I recently announced next steps to deliver a real property tax cut for the people of South Dakota. During legislative session, we passed my bill, Senate Bill 216, which delivered meaningful, impactful changes to slow down future increases in homeowner property taxes. Now, it’s time to go a step further.

I am proposing to the legislature’s Property Tax Relief Task Force that we give counties the option to cut homeowner property taxes by instead implementing a sales tax of up to 0.5%. The proceeds of that tax must go directly to homeowner tax relief – they cannot be used to grow government. And if homeowner taxes are completely offset, then whatever money is left must go towards commercial and agriculture property taxes.

This proposal will be referrable to a vote of the people, and the people could use an initiative process to put it on their local ballot themselves. This means that every county will have every opportunity to decide if this option is right for them.

During legislative session, we had a couple dozen property tax bills proposed. Only my Senate Bill 216 became law. One reason for that is because many of those bills tried to solve a five-county problem with a statewide solution. My new proposal addresses that by giving counties the option to choose what is best for their people.

It just so happens that many of the counties that have the biggest issues with property taxes are also the counties that see the most out-of-state visitors – like Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties in the Sioux Falls metro and several counties in the Black Hills. If those counties implement this proposal, they’ll shift a sizable portion of their local tax burden onto out-of-state residents, which saves money for South Dakotans.

My team will get to work with the legislature’s Property Tax Relief Tax Force to hammer out this proposal and get it into a final form. I promised to address property taxes for our people – and I am delivering on that promise.

I want to thank the people of South Dakota for the opportunity to serve as your Governor. Becoming governor in the middle of session was its own unique challenge and opportunity. I’ve really enjoyed getting around the state in the last couple of weeks on my Open for Opportunity tour, and that will continue in the weeks to come. I hope to see you in your hometown!

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