Two months ago, we made note of the Cato Institute’s Freedom ranking, which places Nebraska towards the bottom (at 38th) of the 50-state analysis of freedom components. A new ranking system—a “Federalism Scorecard” has just been released by the Center for Practical Federalism, and Nebraska’s ranking on that index is even lower—at 43rd. This latest...
A well-structured retail sales tax raises revenue with minimal distortion to economic decision-making. While the income tax creates a disincentivize to work, save, and invest, the sales tax does not create these disincentives. Therefore, the retail sales tax raises revenue with comparably less economic cost than income taxes. Nebraska’s retail sales tax ranks #9 for...
Governor Pillen has pitched a sequel to his historic 2023 income tax cuts. The 2023 reforms slashed top income tax rates by a third, and for his 2024 follow-up, Pillen has proposed cutting property taxes by 40% across Nebraska. When lawmakers convened in Lincoln in the spring of 2023, they had surpluses on hand for...
Governor Jim Pillen inherited a historic opportunity for tax reform in Nebraska. Revenues surged during the pandemic recovery, creating unprecedented surpluses for the Cornhusker State. Nebraska leaders had maintained years of disciplined spending, setting the table for Pillen’s plan. Gov. Pillen was the man for the moment in 2023, and he delivered a transformational tax...
Tune in to the latest episode of Nebraskanomics as we welcome economist, author, and tax policy expert David Brunori. During the episode David and Platte Institute Chief Strategy Officer Jim Smith talk about recent national public policy trends, as well as known and rumored proposals in the Cornhusker State to restructure the tax code and...
I recently had the opportunity of catching up with David Brunori whom I worked with extensively on the Blueprint Nebraska Tax Modernization plan. David is nationally known as a journalist, author, educator, and lawyer who specializes in state and local tax policy. In our podcast hosted by Jim Vokal and the Platte Institute, David and...
Full expensing is the ideal tax policy to help Nebraska catalyze economic growth, attract capital investment, and re-shore supply chains in 2024. Full expensing allows a business to write off the cost of new investment immediately rather than spreading out investment cost recovery over as long as 20 years. It is a subtle change that...
The concept of ‘creative destruction’, coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter, where innovative market changes lead to the downfall of older, less efficient business models, aptly describes the transformative impact of technology on holiday shopping. While shopping habits during the rest of the year guided the market trends, consumers’ habits during the holiday seasons significantly influenced...
The second session of the 108th Nebraska Legislature will convene January 3rd, 2024. The 2024 session is a 60-day “short session.” Legislative activity will proceed at full speed, with much to accomplish right from the start. Following an anticipated rules debate, senators will begin debating the many carryover priority bills from the 2023 session. This...
To download the full “Nebraska’s Path to the Top Ten Report” click here. Summary Nebraska entered 2022 with one of the least-competitive tax systems in a highly competitive region. But then a structural surge in tax revenues was utilized by lawmakers to perform Nebraska’s two-year tax transformation. Across two governors and two years, Nebraska lawmakers...
The Cato Institute’s recent release of its new “Freedom in the 50 States” index should provide Nebraska policymakers with some good information to consider as they head into the 2024 legislative session. Cato is a national policy think tank focusing on individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. The bottom line in the index: Nebraska’s...
Writing in the pages of National Review, Platte CEO Jim Vokal and I described Nebraska’s 2023 tax reform as the best in the nation. Property taxes and income taxes were both cut and reformed in 2023. And that’s not all. Coupled with meaningful reforms in 2022, the total two-year tax relief will be worth $3000...
As any high school civics teacher tries to impress upon distracted teenagers, the federal and state legislative branches pass laws, and the executive branch is responsible for carrying them out. But to facilitate the implementation of laws, administrative rules are created to provide guidance related to the law after it is codified. In Nebraska, the...
Nebraska has the potential to become an exemplar in using artificial technology to bridge the gap in the State’s workforce by providing employment opportunities to those currently excluded from the labor market. Nebraska boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States, standing at 2 percent, tied for the fifth lowest in the...