South Dakota’s new optional half-percent county sales tax is being sold as property-tax relief. It is relief only in the sense of moving money from one pocket to another. The cost of county government does not fall. The law changes who pays it. Meade, Pennington, Custer and Codington are among the counties that have enacted […]

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday introduced a new natural gas pipeline bill that he characterized as a compromise between conflicting philosophies on oil and gas taxes that he wants lawmakers to pass during the ongoing special session. The new bill would nearly eliminate property taxes that would be charged on the operator of a yet-to-be-built […]

When a data center’s walls are first raised on Utah land, neighboring property owners will likely get some tax relief. That break, however, is likely to be temporary. The enormous property values of data centers often carry complex tax questions for the municipalities that host them, a Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute brief says. What […]

For Ann Kirkwood, doctor appointments sometimes come all at once.  One week in mid-May, she had a big one coming up: To see if she had kidney cancer. Kirkwood, who uses a wheelchair, has tapped a free medical transportation program through Valley Regional Transit, a public transit agency in southwest Idaho.  But when she went […]

Editor’s note: This is the third in a three-part series with Nebraska gubernatorial candidates about their pivot from the May 12 primary election to the Nov. 3 general election. LINCOLN — Rick Beard knows the uphill climb he faces to be elected Nebraska’s next governor but feels his third-party status and ideas for a state-run medical […]

LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Lynne Walz, Nebraska’s Democratic nominee for governor, unveiled her platform and day-one commitments Wednesday should she unseat Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, while sidestepping specifics at times about what they would look like. The proposed “Lynne’s Commitment to Nebraskans” offers aspirations for the early days, long-term priorities and values for her administration […]