On August 5, Nebraska lawmakers debated and advanced LB1107, a comprehensive tax and economic package including new property tax relief measures. The Legislature previously debated a separate plan, LB1106 in July, which failed to receive the required 33 votes to overcome a filibuster. LB1107 is a compromise in every sense of the word. Both Republicans and...
The Nebraska Legislature has given first-round approval to a bill that would require large and medium-sized Nebraska cities to take more action to reduce barriers to affordable housing options. Sen. Justin Wayne’s Legislative Bill 866 advanced on a 28-5 vote and contains provisions of Sen. Matt Hansen’s LB794, also known as the Missing Middle Housing...
Participants in the Platte Institute’s Southeast Nebraska Virtual Property Tax Town Hall voted in five online straw polls on property tax issues. The totals below may not add to 100% due to rounding. While these voters expressed similar sentiments to previous respondents on the impact of COVID-19 on their priorities, and a desire to see...
This video may also be viewed and shared on Facebook and YouTube. Click here to read the online poll responses from this town hall.
When Senate Republicans released their next relief package, called the HEALS Act or CARES 2, on July 27, a flurry of news stories were published about the contents. The new proposal is a $1 trillion package as a follow up to the CARES Act and a response to the House Democrats’ $3 trillion HEROES Act. Most...
Voters and taxpayers from Northeast Nebraska joined the Platte Institute’s third Virtual Property Tax Town Hall of summer 2020, and like participants in the previous online events, they had the option to vote in five online straw polls about various property tax issues. While participants expressed similar levels of support for cutting government spending to...
This video may also be viewed and shared on Facebook and YouTube. Click here to read the online poll results from this town hall.
Lawmakers are set to hold a hearing today on decoupling the state’s tax code from federal CARES Act tax policies that provide emergency economic relief to those most impacted by COVID-19, which will reduce business and employee Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in one way or another. Because these CARES Act policies will reduce many Nebraskans’...
Register for the Northeast Nebraska Virtual Property Tax Town Hall at PlatteInstitute.org/Events.
NET’s Fred Knapp reported on Twitter this week about a tax issue poll conducted by the campaign committee of Nebraska state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, who is also the chair of the Revenue Committee. According to the documents provided by the campaign, the poll was a telephone survey of 509 Nebraska voters conducted from July...
Nebraska, like every state, is experiencing economic uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The state will need to use caution as it makes revenue and spending decisions throughout this crisis. However, several structural tax changes have already been made at the federal level that will promote a stronger economic recovery in Nebraska. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,...
Seven years ago, there was no Italian restaurant in Scottsbluff. Area diners craving lasagna or chicken parmesan were out of luck unless they wanted to put in the effort in their own kitchens. But then Melissa Schneider, a Scottsbluff native with a background in agricultural marketing, decided to try selling a different product. On a...
Normally the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board would not meet in July, but because of the pandemic, the Legislature needed an update to know how to proceed with bills that would impact the budget amid the uncertain times. The last time the forecasting board met was in February and the revenue picture was very positive. This...