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Blue Ribbon: Stuck on Sales Tax

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students recommends funding an $8,000 increase in teacher salaries to the greatest extent possible with existing revenues. If budget hawks can shake loose $75 million in spare change from the seat cushions in the Capitol, I’m all for it.

But if we need new revenue, the Blue Ribboneers belie their oft-touted popular directive to “be bold” and call for more regressive sales tax:

If a new revenue source is necessary, the task force recommends an increase in the state sales and use tax as a proven and stable ongoing revenue stream that demonstrates a high potential for growth. The task force would encourage the Governor and the Legislature to consider any form of sales tax increase to raise the recommended amount [Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students, final report, 2015.11.11, p. 25].

Somebody isn’t listening. As I reported in September, sales tax is not only regressive but captures less of our evolving, tech/service-oriented wealth and spending and doesn’t grow as fast as income. On funding for their respectable and necessary plan, the Blue Ribboneers are ignoring fiscal realities in favor of political assumptions and inertia.

6 Comments

  1. larry kurtz 2015-11-12 08:59

    Which part of red state regressive taxes escapes you people?

  2. owen reitzel 2015-11-12 09:16

    I totally agree with you Cory. Sales tax is a regressive tax. However, if somebody mentions a corporate or personal income tax the Republics go nuts and shut down.
    We have to realize that a sales tax is probably the only way to increase teacher’s salaries. If we try for the income taxes nothing will get done and it’ll be an excuse for the Governor and the Republicans.

  3. jerry 2015-11-12 09:23

    knock knock..who’s there? Medicaid Expansion that’s who. Put that into place, sales tax would increase, the economy would be stimulated and the teachers would get paid for their professionalism, it is not rocket science, just math.

  4. WayneF 2015-11-12 10:24

    Increase sales tax? What was that Blue Ribbon Panel Smoking?

    It’s time for South Dakota to enact a personal income tax, so the richest pay more than the poorest.

    Alas, we live in a state where the richest get to call (most of) the shots.

  5. grudznick 2015-11-12 21:04

    I am not OK with the “tax me for just you” ideas of this BluRT-F. Tax all for all, say’s ol’ grudz.

    If you tax me for just you then I say I get to decide how much your fatcat administrators get paid. We will cut the fatcat administrators to the bone and make them give the top 4 of the 7 indisputable levels of teachers raises.

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