UNDATED (KELO AM) Since the state has been warning for months that tax revenues have been slowing, it may come as a surprise that total tax revenue in South Dakota actually grew in 2016.
The report by the National Conference of State Legislatures finds that South Dakota enjoyed a 6.4 percent revenue increase last year over 2015, the second strongest increase in the nation. Only Louisiana had stronger revenue growth, at over 16 percent.
South Dakota experienced a net revenue increase of $107 million in 2016 over total taxes collected the previous year. The state's coffers grew in large part because of the half penny hike in the sales tax to help fund teacher pay.
When State officials warn of slowing revenues, what they really mean is that the rate of projected growth has slowed, not an actual net loss. It is no less worrying, though, for future budget writing and for current spending.
Here's a link to the full report:
http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/HTML_LargeReports/TaxActions.htm