A South Dakota campaign supporting an initiative that would ban the state sales and use tax on groceries submitted signatures to the secretary of state’s office on April 24, 2024. According to Rick Weiland, the co-founder of TakeItBack, the campaign supporting the initiative, about 25,000 signatures were submitted. For the measure to make the ballot on Nov. 5, 2024, 17,509 valid signatures are required.
The measure would prohibit state sales taxes on anything sold for human consumption but specifies that it would not prohibit taxes on alcoholic beverages or prepared food, which is defined as food that is sold heated or with utensils. It would also not prohibit municipalities from establishing additional taxes on groceries.
Currently, South Dakota and Mississippi are the only two states that have a full state sales tax rate on groceries. South Dakota has a 4.2% sales and use tax on groceries, and allows for cities to establish an additional 2% sales tax. Previously, the state sales tax was 4.5%, but the state legislature reduced the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2% for four years in 2023.
