PIERRE, S.D. (WNAX) – The South Dakota Legislative Research Council is reporting state sales taxes up 17 percent in July over last year and 10 percent above legislative estimates.

Nathan Sanderson, Executive Director of the Retailers Association, says that increase isn’t spread evenly across their members.

Sanderson says many service businesses are really struggling.

Sanderson says many of their members took advantage of state and federal emergency loan programs.

The state has received billions of dollars from the federal government to blunt the impacts of the pandemic downturn.