Advocates, We learned something since yesterday, namely that HB1198 (to allow more sales tax for new city projects) comes up on Thursday. So contacts are needed to the committee members who will vote on Thursday. Urge them to oppose this bill.
The news of the hearing comes from the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, a big supporter of HB1198. They want 1% more sales tax for an event center. (Other cities might want to raise sales tax for their new projects.) They put out legi contact info (copied below) to their members.
Please urge Rep’s to OPPOSE HB1198, because it would be problematic for the cost of living to go up, which would happen if cities raise sales tax. I personally think it would be morally wrong to charge the poor and middle class for large portions of the cost of a place of entertainment.
HB1198 says the tax hike would be temporary. But it does not prevent a city from thinking of one project after another.
It requires a local vote for the project and accompanying tax hike. But we know low- and middle-income people would not be able to mount the kind of advertising campaign that project enthusiasts could. And low-and middle-income people have a harder time getting information except from advertising and getting to the polls.
It says cities could have a refund program, if they choose. We know about refund programs! No matter how generous and simple, refund programs miss people, often lots of them. If the idea is that basic necessities should not be taxed, then let’s not tax them in the first place.
Cities do not often admit it, but there are other ways to raise funds. In the case of the event center, the city could be asking for a higher allowable bed-board-booze tax (BBB). If not such a hurry to pay off the building (3-4 years), they could build an event center mostly with 2% more on BBB, supplemented with some private fundraising (donations, naming rights, ticket fees, luxury suite fees, etc).
Here is nifty Legi Contact info (from the Sioux Falls Chamber):
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On Thursday, Feb. 11, the House Local Government Committee will take up the Local Option Sales and Use Tax increase - HB 1198. Here is your chance to be part of the process. We have included a list of those who are on the committee. It is usually most effective to contact your local representative or senator; however, if you personally know others on the committee your contact to them can be very powerful.
Here is a listing of all those who are on this particular committee (just click on their names to send them an email):
Mark Kirkeby (Chair, represents Pennington County)
Val Rausch (Vice Chair, represents Brookings, Deuel, Grant and Moody counties)
**Sioux Falls area legislators**:
• Jim Bolin lives in Canton and represents Lincoln and Union counties. His phone number is 987-2630.
• Blake Curd lives in Sioux Falls and represents Lincoln and Minnehaha counties. His phone number is 321-0121 while in Pierre and 339-8918 in Sioux Falls.
• Dan Lederman lives in Dakota Dunes and represents Lincoln and Union counties. His phone number is 712-251-1992.
• Darrell Solberg lives in Sioux Falls and represents Lincoln and Minnehaha counties. His phone number is 361-2475.
• Martha Vanderlinde lives in Sioux Falls and represents Minnehaha County. Her phone number is 201-7427.
Other legislators on the committee include (we’ve linked their names to their email addresses):
• Justin Cronin lives in Gettysburg and represents seven area counties.
• Dennis Feickert represents Brown and McPherson counties
• Justin Frerichs represents Day, Marshall and Roberts counties
• Betty Olson represents Butte, Corson, Harding, Meade and Perkins counties
• Fred Romkema represents Lawrence County
• Tim Rounds represents Hughes, Stanley and Sully counties
