VIEWPOINT | Don’t undermine South Dakota’s successful trust industry
Guest column by Terra Larson, South Dakota Trust Association
As frustration over property taxes grows, some candidates have reached for a politically tempting answer: taxing trusts, especially those created by people who do not live here. On the surface, that may sound like an easy way to raise revenue without burdening South Dakota families.
It is also a serious mistake. South Dakota’s trust industry is not a loophole or a free ride. It is a competitive, high-value sector that supports well-paying jobs, contributes significant economic activity and already operates within a regulated, fee-supported system. Threatening that industry with new taxes would not solve the property tax debate. It would simply encourage business, talent and investment to leave for other states.
To understand why, it helps to start with a basic fact: Trusts are portable.
South Dakota lawmaker won’t resign as tax status probed in Minnehaha County
A Lower Brule lawmaker will not resign after tax records revealed her primary residency is outside of the South Dakota legislative district she represents in the state Senate.
