Tax Candi

I have managed to visit 32 of the 50 states.  An entry on my "bucket list" is to visit the other 18.  One of the  places I've yet to visit is South Dakota and Mount Rushmore (which, by the way, was made vastly more exciting after a viewing of National Treasure 2).  So, in honor of the home of the monument to Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, let's discuss......

South Dakota's Sales, Use and Contractor's Excise Tax Refund

Companies building or expanding facilities in South Dakota can get a refund on the sales, use or contractor's  tax on raw materials, machinery and equipment for the new facility.  Project costs must exceed $10 Million, and the amount of the refund is dependent upon the total cost, as follows:

$10-15 Million projects get a 25% refund;

$15-20 Million projects get a 33% refund;

$20-40 Million projects get a 50% refund

$40-60 Million projects get a 67% refund;

$60-600 Million projects get a 75% refund; and

$600+ Million (a.k.a. Ginormous) projects get a 90% refund.

Projects of $60 Million or less get refund permits lasting 36 months.  Permits for projects costing over $60 million last for 72 months. 

And since South Dakota's state sales tax rate is 4%, the refund could add up to a nice piece of change. For example, the refund for a $50 Million project is $1 Million.  That's enough to spring for a good coffee machine.

Refund permits must be approved 18 days before construction commencement, so interested parties need to apply through the Governor's Office of Economic Development well in advance of ground-breaking.

(FYI:  "Great Faces, Great Places" is the official motto of the State of South Dakota.  It's almost as bad as Michigan's unofficial "Good Times, Great Lakes.")