S.D. House Rejects Tax Repeal Move

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The House was in no mood Wednesday to cut taxes.

Failing 28-38 was a bill seeking repeal of the tax on truck shipments that start and end in South Dakota, marking another defeat for those who have tried for several years to dump the tax.

Rep. Jerry Apa, a republican who spearheaded the move to repeal the trucking tax, said it is not fair that shipments hauled into the state and those hauled out of the state are not taxed while intrastate truckers must collect the tax, he said.

"It is time to tell the people of South Dakota we will address tax inequities, and we will treat all taxpayers as fairly as possible," Apa said.

The tax is a burden on small businesses, farmers and others, he said, arguing that elimination of the tax would create an economic boom that would result in nearly a wash on state tax revenues.

However, those opposed to the legislation said it would put a $3 million hole in the state budget.

"You can try to find more income somewhere else, or you can reduce your expenses," said Rep. Steve Cutler. "This bill does neither."

The trucking tax was started several years ago as part of an effort to provide revenues for property tax relief, he said. That program has grown to $102 million this year, and about half of that went for farmland, Cutler said.

Rep. Ron Volesky, a democrat, said the trucking tax is so unpopular that more than 20,000 signatures against it were gathered in an effort to put the issue on the ballot. But he said that never happened because the Supreme Court ruled that a tax cannot be repealed in such a manner.