South Dakota voters will decide the fate of a business incentive plan at the polls in November. A bill passed by the 2011 legislature that would dedicate a certain percentage of the contractors excise tax to large projects was referred by a petition drive. Democrats led the effort, concerned about diverting millions of dollars to economic development. Dave Owen, President of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the criticism of using incentives for the Keystone pipeline was justified in some part, but overall, the development projects are good for the state…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/Dave-Owen-404a.mp3|titles=Dave Owen 404a]Owen says the contractors excise tax does stand in the way of some major projects…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/Dave-Owen-404b.mp3|titles=Dave Owen 404b](courtesy WNAX Yankton)