KSFY - South Dakota's Congressional Leaders React to Obama's Tax Proposal

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Back in February, President Barack Obama released his budget proposal. In it, several tax proposals to improve finances for middle class families across the country.

Monday, the president explained his plan to KSFY's Nancy Naeve, detailing exactly how it would affect South Dakotans.

In response, South Dakota's members of congress said it's a bad idea and the wrong one for the people of South Dakota.

"A third of the farmers, because of run-up in land values, would be hit by the tax, which, we think need to be repealed. The President's policies on taxes, raising taxes on a lot of middle-income families, his proposals in his budget would attack these 529 accounts people could use to put aside money to pay for kids' education," South Dakota Senator John Thune said.

He's not the only one. According to Senator Mike Rounds, 98 out of 100 fellow senators, on both sides, refused to support Obama's plan. The priority is to get the national debt under control, he says.

"Everyone in South Dakota knows there is no free lunch and you can't simply tell people 'don't worry about, we'll pay for it later and let the kids take care of it'... That's the wrong message. That is the one the president has. His budget will increase the national debt to $25 trillion dollars by 2025. That's wrong," Senator Mike Rounds said.

Congresswoman Kristi Noem agrees, hoping for a fairer system, getting rid of loop holes, exemptions and to pass a tax reform.

"The president have a different way of looking the government's role in peoples lives. He thinks opportunities come from government and i think they come from people. I think more people should be able to keep the dollars they earn and choose and have freedom to spend that to better their families," Rep. Kristi Noem said.

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