Faced with an ever more dire looking budget situation, the state is turning to different sources of funding in an attempt to raise the necessary funds to meet budget requirements. South Dakota, along with other states, is weighing the costs and benefits of mandatory seat belt laws. Read more here…
A recent proposal (SB 79) suggests making non-seat belt compliance a primary offense for everyone in the state. Much of the motivation for this proposal stems from the fact that doing so qualifies South Dakota for a one-time payout of a few million dollars of federal money. Making seat belts mandatory will also create additional revenues from traffic tickets.
Although we can have the debate over the merits of mandatory seat belt laws, doing so should not be motivated by promises of one-time federal payouts, as it is not good policy to fund ongoing budgets with one-time dollars. Criminalizing current freedoms simply to raise more funds for the state coffers through ticket revenues is also not a course of action that should be taken lightly.
Our budget woes would best be dealt with in the long run by using more stable sources of funding and putting more focus on our general taxation structure. We also need to use more responsible, conservative accounting practices to provide the needed funds for worthy projects during good times and provide leeway in emergencies, rather than resorting to one-time money to fund ongoing needs, which creates problems during rough budget years.
Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
A Place Of Opportunity...
Once again, South Dakota ranked as one of the top states that people are migrating to. According the Argus leader, inbound moves to South Dakota were at 57.3 percent, whereas outbound moves were at 42.7 percent. Compared to other states, we ranked sixth in the nation for inbound migration. Read more here…
Much of South Dakota’s attractiveness can be attributed to our low tax burden and lack of an income tax. There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal that compared North and South Dakota. Both states are very similar in resources, jobs, population, etc., but while we have many people coming into our state, North Dakota finds its residents leaving. Both states are similar in many ways, with the exception that we do not have an income tax here in South Dakota.
They say people vote with their feet, and people are leaving states with high taxes, despite the public luxuries those taxes fund, in favor of states like ours that offer greater individual economic opportunities rather than public assistance.
In essence, we are actually increasing the amount of dollars we can bring in as a state by keeping taxes low. Attracting more people to our state with low taxes increases our tax base, since we will have more people here to tax with the existing tax structure.
Much of South Dakota’s attractiveness can be attributed to our low tax burden and lack of an income tax. There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal that compared North and South Dakota. Both states are very similar in resources, jobs, population, etc., but while we have many people coming into our state, North Dakota finds its residents leaving. Both states are similar in many ways, with the exception that we do not have an income tax here in South Dakota.
They say people vote with their feet, and people are leaving states with high taxes, despite the public luxuries those taxes fund, in favor of states like ours that offer greater individual economic opportunities rather than public assistance.
In essence, we are actually increasing the amount of dollars we can bring in as a state by keeping taxes low. Attracting more people to our state with low taxes increases our tax base, since we will have more people here to tax with the existing tax structure.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Finding Funding...
Debate continues over how we’re going to find the resources to take care of our infrastructure needs in South Dakota. Legislators are now proposing raising fees on vehicle registration, as well as increasing gas taxes, according to the Argus Leader. Read more here…
Rather than increase fees on the citizens of our state to find needed funds, why not make sure that all our dollars being spent are being spent wisely? Online databases of government expenditures are great resources for ambitious individuals and press to go and look for wasteful uses of taxpayer dollars. Some states have implemented use of these databases to great success. As part of their state website, Alaska uses “Checkbook Online” to show where tax dollars are spent in the state.
Missouri found many different areas where the state was wasting millions of dollars. Through their site, concerned individuals were able to point out to Missouri that the state was spending $1.6 million at coffee shops, $278,053.46 at floral shops, and $70,849.02 at doughnut shops, among other things. All in all, over the past 8 years the state found more than $2.4 million dollars worth of wasteful spending. Read more here…
Utilizing the technology we have now, we can increase the efficiency of government, rather than increasing fees and taxes on the state’s citizens. The OpenSD site is a great start, and it could be expanded upon to allow watchdog groups, press, bloggers, and concerned taxpayers alike to hop on the internet and discover wasteful spending, and as a result help cut down on wasteful use of resources and allow us to divert them toward more worthy projects for the state.
Rather than increase fees on the citizens of our state to find needed funds, why not make sure that all our dollars being spent are being spent wisely? Online databases of government expenditures are great resources for ambitious individuals and press to go and look for wasteful uses of taxpayer dollars. Some states have implemented use of these databases to great success. As part of their state website, Alaska uses “Checkbook Online” to show where tax dollars are spent in the state.
Missouri found many different areas where the state was wasting millions of dollars. Through their site, concerned individuals were able to point out to Missouri that the state was spending $1.6 million at coffee shops, $278,053.46 at floral shops, and $70,849.02 at doughnut shops, among other things. All in all, over the past 8 years the state found more than $2.4 million dollars worth of wasteful spending. Read more here…
Utilizing the technology we have now, we can increase the efficiency of government, rather than increasing fees and taxes on the state’s citizens. The OpenSD site is a great start, and it could be expanded upon to allow watchdog groups, press, bloggers, and concerned taxpayers alike to hop on the internet and discover wasteful spending, and as a result help cut down on wasteful use of resources and allow us to divert them toward more worthy projects for the state.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Ranching And Climate Change…
Rumors have been flying about recently over proposed taxes on emissions by cattle and pig farms. In July of this year, the Supreme Court ruled that methane is a greenhouse gas and falls under regulation by the Clean Air Act. In response, the President recently signed a regulation exempting farmers and ranchers from reporting their methane output, although with the new administration this is subject to change.
Although the EPA says that this is not a tax, per se, farmers and ranchers who find themselves out of compliance with Clean Air Act regulation are subject to fines and penalties, up to $175 per head of cattle, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Read more here…
It’s easy to see how regulations like these can have drastic implications for South Dakota’s Farmers and Ranchers, whose very livelihoods depend on raising these animals and using methane-producing machines for harvest. Coupled with high and unpredictable feed prices, ranchers especially may have difficulty breaking even with additional environmental regulations on their livestock. Hopefully the new administration’s pick for Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, will be able to stress these concerns to the new president.
Although the EPA says that this is not a tax, per se, farmers and ranchers who find themselves out of compliance with Clean Air Act regulation are subject to fines and penalties, up to $175 per head of cattle, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Read more here…
It’s easy to see how regulations like these can have drastic implications for South Dakota’s Farmers and Ranchers, whose very livelihoods depend on raising these animals and using methane-producing machines for harvest. Coupled with high and unpredictable feed prices, ranchers especially may have difficulty breaking even with additional environmental regulations on their livestock. Hopefully the new administration’s pick for Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, will be able to stress these concerns to the new president.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Re-establishing priorities…
Today Governor Rounds announced his budget proposal for next year, which included tapping into the general reserves, and—more importantly—the property tax reduction reserve. Read more highlights here…
Dipping into the property tax reduction reserve is essentially a property tax increase on the citizens of South Dakota who are already weighed down heavily with property tax burden.
Over the past several years, the South Dakota Legislature has had the practice of using reserves to balance the budget. Now, during tough times, our reserves are in great jeopardy; as is our commitment to education and other areas of need.
So what do we do?
Unfortunately, we must endure some pain. And it will take a keen eye towards establishing high performance teams in our administration to develop benchmarks and performance measurements to get the job done. It will take strong leadership to bring us out of the structural deficit we are in, to bring this state to a position of fiscal strength once again.
Dipping into the property tax reduction reserve is essentially a property tax increase on the citizens of South Dakota who are already weighed down heavily with property tax burden.
Over the past several years, the South Dakota Legislature has had the practice of using reserves to balance the budget. Now, during tough times, our reserves are in great jeopardy; as is our commitment to education and other areas of need.
So what do we do?
Unfortunately, we must endure some pain. And it will take a keen eye towards establishing high performance teams in our administration to develop benchmarks and performance measurements to get the job done. It will take strong leadership to bring us out of the structural deficit we are in, to bring this state to a position of fiscal strength once again.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
We Shouldn't Wait...
The Argus Leader has an editorial titled: "South Dakota Should Brace For Worst"
The author of this editorial is exactly right… we cannot always rely on federal resources to take care of ourselves. The highways in South Dakota are funded through the fuel taxes. Due to recent increases in fuel (up to $147 per barrel in July) the people of South Dakota and the United States couldn't afford to drive. Subsequently, the decrease in fuel taxes meant that federal and state governments couldn’t afford to fix roads.
We are a transportation dependent economy. Agricultural products must be harvested and transported, kids need to drive to school, people need to drive to work, and in South Dakota, we rely on tourism as a sizeable portion of our economic revenue.
I strongly assure you… South Dakota, along with other state governments, can’t afford to wait forever. Our infrastructure is vitally important to our stability as an economy, and to the quality of life we lead here in the Midwest where mass transit isn’t always readily available.
The answer?
We can begin by implementing polices to localize transportation funding, relying on local government to decide what projects are important. Last legislative session, we proposed Senate Bill 183. This bill allowed for the ability to set up a transportation district. By partnering with local governments within a region, a tax base can be captured and directed towards the priorities much needed within the region.
All too often, the game plan for local communities either goes unnoticed or gets put on hold by state government. We need to allow local communities the control they need to grow their assets and invest in what will help sustain their economy and quality of life. Senate Bill 183 should be the start of the discussion towards the right answer in our transportation funding problems.
Once again, partnerships can solve problems.
The author of this editorial is exactly right… we cannot always rely on federal resources to take care of ourselves. The highways in South Dakota are funded through the fuel taxes. Due to recent increases in fuel (up to $147 per barrel in July) the people of South Dakota and the United States couldn't afford to drive. Subsequently, the decrease in fuel taxes meant that federal and state governments couldn’t afford to fix roads.
We are a transportation dependent economy. Agricultural products must be harvested and transported, kids need to drive to school, people need to drive to work, and in South Dakota, we rely on tourism as a sizeable portion of our economic revenue.
I strongly assure you… South Dakota, along with other state governments, can’t afford to wait forever. Our infrastructure is vitally important to our stability as an economy, and to the quality of life we lead here in the Midwest where mass transit isn’t always readily available.
The answer?
We can begin by implementing polices to localize transportation funding, relying on local government to decide what projects are important. Last legislative session, we proposed Senate Bill 183. This bill allowed for the ability to set up a transportation district. By partnering with local governments within a region, a tax base can be captured and directed towards the priorities much needed within the region.
All too often, the game plan for local communities either goes unnoticed or gets put on hold by state government. We need to allow local communities the control they need to grow their assets and invest in what will help sustain their economy and quality of life. Senate Bill 183 should be the start of the discussion towards the right answer in our transportation funding problems.
Once again, partnerships can solve problems.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
An Income Tax For South Dakota...
I have to agree with Pat Powers and the War College on this one...
From the Dakota War College:
Income tax panel to meet in Pierre. Moving forward on a bad idea
A committee meets today in Pierre to work on a change in property tax assessments of agriculture land from the current one based on land sales to a model that uses production to determine taxes.A new law will value farmland based on an eight-year average of yields and commodity prices starting in 2011, and…
He says the committee needs to come up with a tax rate that won’t change the overall amount of what land owners pay in taxes now.
You can continue to count me in the column against this tax.
From the Dakota War College:
Income tax panel to meet in Pierre. Moving forward on a bad idea
A committee meets today in Pierre to work on a change in property tax assessments of agriculture land from the current one based on land sales to a model that uses production to determine taxes.A new law will value farmland based on an eight-year average of yields and commodity prices starting in 2011, and…
He says the committee needs to come up with a tax rate that won’t change the overall amount of what land owners pay in taxes now.
You can continue to count me in the column against this tax.
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