ALERT: A question on the November 2012 ballot asks voters to raise sales tax. This would raise the tax on food, unless the 2012 Legislature acts to help South Dakotans keep the food portion of the increase in their wallets at the grocery store. Even without raising the tax on food, the initiative would still raise over $160 million for education and medicaid.
State legislators could take preventive action to keep the tax from going up on food when the initiative passes. &/or They could work out a plan to end this odious tax.
About South Dakota's food tax:
Three weeks worth of food
Over a year, the tax people pay on their food (state & local) is enough to buy all their food for three weeks. (6% x 52 weeks)
The tax takes food off the tables of economically struggling families.
South Dakota taxes people deeper into poverty
South Dakota is among the nation’s “Terrible Ten” states for regressive taxes. Taxing food is the most regressive part of the problem. [See the section on regressive taxes]
South Dakota taxes people deeper into life's struggles
•Food is often the flexible part of the budget. When times get tough or when emergencies pop up, food gets shortchanged. If there were no food tax, the budget for food would stretch farther in the grocery store.
•One-third of the households in South Dakota struggle to make ends meet. (They are below 200% of poverty line, which is roughly equivalent to the Self-Sufficiency standard for South Dakota.)
•Low- and middle-income people pay a bigger portion of their income in state and local taxes than those who are better off.
•Nursing homes, even non-profit ones, pay tax on the food they buy. They have other pressing needs for those funds.
•South Dakota is already among the nation's "Terrible Ten" states for regressive taxes. This means people with less income pay a higher portion of that income for state and local taxes, while those with the highest income pay the lowest % of income. It means the burden falls harder on the lower incomes. The result is that the lower- and middle-incomes have less money left to buy the things they need.
• OBESITY ALERT: On the list of states with highese obesity rates, those at the top are among the few states that tax food. Since increasing food tax in 2004, South Dakota has been moving up the rankings on obesity.
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The poll tax was ended, because people should not
have to pay a tax before they can vote.
It is time to end the food tax, because people should
not have to pay a tax before they can eat.
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2/2/12