⚖️ SB 216 vs. Core GRT Plan: A Tax Reform Comparison

🏛️ SEAL SD Breaks Down the Differences

At SealSD.com, we’re committed to ensuring South Dakotans understand their options for tax reform. The Core GRT Plan, part of the Maximum Liberty Plan (Plan 2), replaces all state taxes with a single 5% Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), generating $3.6 billion and saving you $3,000–$5,000 annually by eliminating property taxes. Senate Bill 216 (SB 216), proposed in the 2025 South Dakota Legislative Session, aimed to reduce property taxes by adjusting mill levies but fell short of comprehensive reform. This page compares SB 216 with the Core GRT Plan, critically examining their approaches, financial impacts, and alignment with liberty-based principles, so you can see why the Core GRT Plan offers a bolder path to tax freedom.

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🔍 Tax Structure: How They Differ

The Core GRT Plan and SB 216 take fundamentally different approaches to tax reform in South Dakota:

• Core GRT Plan: Replaces all state taxes—sales taxes ($2.097 billion), property taxes ($1.6 billion), and other fees ($628.2 million)—with a single 5% GRT on business revenue ($72 billion base), generating $3.6 billion. Property taxes are eliminated entirely, and the GRT simplifies the tax system with one rate for businesses, often lowering consumer costs (e.g., $1.00 pass-through on a $40 purchase vs. $2.60 sales tax).
• SB 216: Proposed adjusting mill levies to reduce property taxes, specifically targeting school district levies. It aimed to cap the general education levy at 5 mills (down from varying rates, often 10–14 mills), potentially saving homeowners $100–$300 annually per $100,000 of property value. However, it retained sales taxes, other fees, and some property taxes, lacking a comprehensive overhaul.
• Key Difference: The Core GRT Plan eliminates all property taxes and state taxes, replacing them with a single GRT, while SB 216 only reduces property taxes partially, leaving the broader tax structure intact and complex.

Analogy for Clarity: The Core GRT Plan is like swapping all picnic fees for one $5 picnic cake fee—no more picnic spot fees, snack fees, or extra charges, just one simple fee that covers everything. SB 216 is like lowering the picnic spot fee a bit but still charging for snacks and drinks, keeping the picnic bill messy.

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💰 Financial Impact: Savings and Costs

The financial implications of the Core GRT Plan and SB 216 differ significantly in scale and scope:

• Core GRT Plan Savings: Eliminates $1.6 billion in property taxes state-wide, saving each household $3,000–$5,000 annually. For a $300,000 home in Sioux Falls, that’s $4,500 saved (1.5% rate). It also offers $200 residency rebates per person ($60 million total) and exemptions for small businesses, veterans, seniors, and military families ($32.5 million cost). Net gain for a Sioux Falls couple: $4,750 yearly (Page 10: How It Affects the Average Homeowner).
• SB 216 Savings: Would have reduced property taxes by capping school district levies at 5 mills. For a $300,000 home, this might save $600 annually (a reduction from 10 mills to 5 mills, assuming $2 per $1,000 of value per mill). However, it doesn’t eliminate property taxes entirely, and other taxes like sales taxes remain unchanged.
• Key Difference: The Core GRT Plan delivers $3,000–$5,000 in annual savings per household by eliminating all property taxes, while SB 216 offers a modest $100–$600 reduction, leaving you with ongoing tax burdens. The Core GRT Plan’s comprehensive approach also provides rebates and exemptions, maximizing financial freedom.

Analogy for Clarity: The Core GRT Plan clears your entire picnic spot fee, saving you $4,500, and gives you a $400 picnic gift card, while SB 216 just trims your picnic spot fee by $600, still leaving you with a picnic bill to pay—it’s the difference between a free picnic and a discounted picnic snack!

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🗽 Liberty-Based Principles: Aligning with South Dakota Values

The Core GRT Plan and SB 216 differ in their alignment with liberty-based principles, a core value for South Dakotans:

• Core GRT Plan: Fully eliminates property taxes, a form of government overreach that threatens your home and financial freedom, as discussed in our reflections on liberty (Page 18: The Power of the People’s Free Will). It simplifies the tax system, reducing administrative burdens, and empowers citizens through initiatives like SD-DOGE oversight (Page 15: What Happens When Representatives Fail to Honor Their Duty). This plan aligns with the Founding Fathers’ vision of liberty as freedom from excessive taxation, prioritizing your autonomy.
• SB 216: Reduces property taxes but doesn’t eliminate them, leaving you vulnerable to future increases and maintaining a complex tax structure. It lacks the citizen-driven accountability of the Core GRT Plan, relying on legislative action rather than empowering the people directly. While it offers some relief, it doesn’t fully address the overreach inherent in property taxes, falling short of true liberty-based reform.
• Key Difference: The Core GRT Plan is a citizen-led, liberty-based initiative that eliminates property taxes entirely, aligning with South Dakota’s values of autonomy and limited government, while SB 216 is a legislative tweak that doesn’t go far enough to secure true financial freedom.

Analogy for Clarity: The Core GRT Plan is like making the picnic free for everyone, kicking out the picnic bosses who charge spot fees, and letting picnic friends watch over the picnic rules—it’s a picnic of freedom! SB 216 is like the picnic bosses giving you a small picnic discount but still keeping their picnic fees, not fully letting you enjoy the picnic your way.

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💡 Why the Core GRT Plan Wins: A Bolder Path Forward

The Core GRT Plan offers a more comprehensive, liberty-focused solution compared to SB 216:

• Total Tax Freedom: Eliminates all property taxes ($1.6 billion), saving you $3,000–$5,000 annually, compared to SB 216’s partial reduction ($100–$600).
• Simpler System: Replaces all state taxes with one 5% GRT, reducing complexity for businesses and consumers, while SB 216 retains sales taxes, fees, and some property taxes.
• Citizen Empowerment: Driven by your free will through the ballot initiative process, with SD-DOGE oversight ensuring accountability, unlike SB 216’s top-down legislative approach.
• Economic Impact: Frees up $1.6 billion in disposable income, boosting local spending and supporting industries like tourism ($4.96 billion), while SB 216’s modest savings have a smaller economic ripple effect.

Analogy for Clarity: The Core GRT Plan throws open the picnic gates, clears all picnic fees, and lets you run the picnic with your picnic friends, making the picnic $4,500 richer for everyone. SB 216 just lowers one picnic fee a bit, keeping the picnic gates half-closed and the picnic bill longer—it’s a small picnic step, not a picnic leap!

📂 Learn More

• 🌄 Our Vision for South Dakota
  The future we’re building — bold, free, and family-first.
• 📊 End Property Tax: GRT Plan
  How the 5% Gross Receipts Tax will replace property taxes — and why it works.
• 📈 Revenue Verification
  Ensuring every dollar is accounted for — transparency you can trust.
• 🛡️ Safeguards to Protect Homes
  No tricks, no traps — just locked-in protections you can count on.
• 🕵️ SD-DOGE: Our Government Watchdog
  Efficiency, oversight, and a watchdog that works for the people.
• 👉 Get the Facts
  Will Prices Go Up?: Debunk myths about price increases under the GRT.
• 🚜 Family Farms & Ranches
  How the GRT protects and empowers South Dakota’s agricultural backbone.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For Our Kids’ Future
  Building a legacy of freedom and opportunity for the next generation.
• 🏛️ South Dakota First
  Prioritizing our people, our values, and our future — always.
• 🆕 What’s New?
  Stay updated on the latest developments and announcements.