The State House passed a bill on Monday afternoon, allowing the town of Deadwood to increase its municipal tax. Lawmakers are split on this bill.
The community of Deadwood has been losing gambling revenue over the past few years and the state legislature is looking for solutions. One proposal is to increase the hotel tax. Senate Bill 98 allows Deadwood to increase its municipal tax from two dollars to three dollars. This is a lodging tax on those who spend the night in the city limits. Democratic State Representative Bernie Hunhoff says this tax increase will help with maintenance in Deadwood and open doors to helping other communities with similar issues.
"Together we’re going to have to start caring about these towns. If we don’t really start being creative and helping these communities reinvent themselves, we’re going end up with six or eight communities surviving in South Dakota and just nothing but empty space between them," Hunhoff says.
But not everyone sees the bill as a creative way to help a community. Republican State Representative Don Haggar opposes this bill.
"It’s a tax increase, the way I look at it and I understand that it’s been ruled that it’s not but because it’s local option, but it’s likely to be a tax increase for the folks that go to deadwood. So, on those grounds I’m going to be opposing it," Haggar says.
Senate Bill 98 passed the South Dakota House of Representatives 39-31 and it goes next to the Governor’s Desk.
