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Panel Votes Down Measure Allowing More Municipal Sales Taxes

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A House panel has voted down a measure to allow municipalities to temporarily collect up to an additional penny of sales tax for capital expenditures with local voters’ support.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 7-6 to defeat the proposal, which advocates say would help city infrastructure and help communities thrive.

The committee heard opponents’ arguments that approving the measure could lead to massive new taxes. Opposition group Americans for Tax Prosperity South Dakota says the measure could have added more than $150 million in new taxes if every city implemented it.

Supporters scoffed at that figure and urged lawmakers to understand municipalities’ needs. Mark Lee from the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce says the tax hike would coincide with specific projects and be subject to local control.