PIERRE, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) Legislators will debate solutions to rising property taxes in the 2026 session. The rapidly increasing residential rates is due to the drive and demand. The Lieutenant governor says while property taxes are set by the state, the money is spent by local governments.
“The thing about property tax is the state collects $1.8 billion a year. All of it goes to local governments. The state doesn’t spend that money, and if you want to do property tax relief, You have to replace that money somehow, so you’re either talking new revenue coming in or pretty significant cuts to local governments. And that is what we grappled with during the last legislative session.”