The Brookings City Council wants to impose a 1 percent sales tax increase, which would cost SDSU students an estimated $35,000, to “promote the city.”
Some SA senators want the tax revenue, which would be generated from meal plans under the proposed bed, booze and board tax, to “go back to the university.”
Here’s a thought: how about scrapping the whole tax and letting students keep their $35,000?
Promoting Brookings? Are they serious? And what shall be the selling point? We can see the advertisements now: “Live in Brookings. There’s nothing to do, but we have 10+ bars!” Or maybe “Brookings is Someplace Special. Just ask the freaky art people who come to town for one week during the summer to peddle their wares.” But then again, if the sales tax revenue swells to the reported $225,000, there will probably be enough cash to invent a selling point.
But how about the SA’s idea of having that money returned to the university? Because lord knows that the tens of millions of dollars students kick in to this institution and community aren’t nearly enough.
The idea behind this tax is weak because it boils down to “we can tax and therefore, we should tax.” South Dakota cities can choose to collect three pennies per dollar beyond the 4 percent state sales tax. Currently, Brookings doesn’t collect that third penny. And according to city manager Michael Williams, no other community in the state does not tax that third penny. So, we should increase our taxes because we don’t want cities like Mitchell or Aberdeen to “out-tax” us? Great logic.
Logic takes it in the shorts again with the argument that this tax is necessary so that Brookings can compete with nearby cities to host special events. Wasn’t the purpose of the Multiplex to bring “special events” to this city? So now a tax is the panacea to cure our “special events” drought? News flash: neither a building nor more money will magically bring events to this city. That would require a miracle.
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