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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is ready to reward state residents in a major way if they re-elect her.
The GOP governor announced late last week that she plans to push for a massive tax cut for all South Dakotans if she wins another term.
“I’ve seen families across SD struggle to make ends meet because of [President Joe] Biden’s inflation. I’m proposing the largest tax cut in state history: eliminating sales tax on groceries. This will put $100 MILLION back into the pockets of SD families. Cutting taxes. Saving families $$$,” she noted in a tweet introducing the plan.
I’ve seen families across SD struggle to make ends meet because of Biden’s inflation. I'm proposing the largest tax cut in state history: eliminating sales tax on groceries.
This will put $100 MILLION back into the pockets of SD families.
Cutting taxes. Saving families $$$. pic.twitter.com/tdISaXdbxP
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) September 28, 2022
Noem is running against Democratic nominee Jamie Smith, the state House minority leader.
“His failed liberal agenda has caused the cost of food to skyrocket, and family budgets are being stretched thin,” she said last week. “This permanent tax cut will put hundreds of dollars in the pockets of the average South Dakota family.”
She went on to say that the current economic and inflationary climate under the Biden administration and a Democrat-controlled Congress influenced her decision to seek a major tax cut for residents.
“South Dakotans work hard. They get up every day and provide for their families, but the Biden administration’s policies are destroying their ability to feed their children. Senior citizens, working parents, and single moms are all struggling with rising food and gas prices. South Dakota will continue to do the right thing and protect our people from a disastrous White House,” Noem said, according to Fox News.
The outlet adds:
The most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report revealed that inflation rose to 8.3% in August, up from 8.2% in July after hitting a 40-year-high of 9.1% in June. The announcement cited data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, claiming that “since President Joe Biden took office, the price of a pound of ground beef has increased 25%. The price of a gallon of milk has increased 20%. The price of a dozen eggs has increased a whopping 113%.”
Noem’s office highlighted how much salaries in South Dakota have grown since the governor took office.
“South Dakotans’ incomes have grown by 21% in the past 3 years, the highest in the nation. South Dakota’s budget surplus for the 2022 budget year was $115.5 million. Sales taxes grew by 12%. The state’s rainy-day fund grew to $422.6 million, 20.5% of the state’s budget,” the press release said.
Noem, who is well-known as a close ally of former President Donald Trump, handily beat Steve Haugaard, the former Republican speaker of the state House, in the June GOP primary.
A week before the primary, Noem made headlines when she pushed back on a Biden administration threat to withhold education funding from states that refuse to adhere to a new Title IX interpretation.
“President Biden is holding lunch money for poor Americans hostage in pursuit of his radical agenda,” Noem said in a statement Thursday morning. “He is insisting that we allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports or else lose funding for SNAP and school lunch programs.”
“South Dakota will continue to defend basic fairness so that our girls can compete and achieve. I would remind President Biden that we have defeated him in litigation before and are ready to do so again,” the GOP governor added, making reference to her state’s lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccine mandate, which the Supreme Court struck down in January.
“Mr. President, we’ll see you in court,” she added.
The Daily Wire added:
Noem’s warning draws on a promise from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) that it will interpret “the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 … to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
This would mean that schools that do not allow biological males in women’s sports, women’s locker rooms, or women’s restrooms would be considered to be discriminating against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA and FNS are issuing this interpretation to help ensure its programs are open, accessible and help promote food and nutrition security, regardless of demographics,” the USDA noted in a statement.
