News Release: Platte Institute to Support Sales Tax Reform
News Release: Platte Institute to Support Sales Tax Reform
The Platte Institute plans to support Sen. Tom Briese’s Legislative Bill 946.
How the 2020 Legislature should define success
How the 2020 Legislature should define success
Today, the second session of the 106th Nebraska Legislature convenes. Last year, 739 bills were introduced. Of those, 255 (roughly 1/3) were signed into law and 3 were vetoed. A resulting 481 bills were carried over. The first ten days of session are when new bills are introduced. It is anticipated another 500-700 bills will...
Who Really Cares About Property Taxes?
Who Really Cares About Property Taxes?
How can we bridge the information gap between taxpayers and taxing entities?
Which school of economics do you identify with?
Which school of economics do you identify with?
Ever wonder where we get some of our economic ideas? Two predominant examples of economic views are Keynesian and Classical (also sometimes referred to as Austrian economics). Keynesian is based on the British Economist John Maynard Keynes, who influenced much of the economic and fiscal behavior of governments in the early 1900’s. In a nutshell,...
Who really “needs” a pool?
Who really “needs” a pool?
Swimming pools may be great fun, but they're not core government services.
Eagles and broken window fallacies
Eagles and broken window fallacies
A bald eagle smashed through a storefront window and gave an essential economics lesson.
Is Nebraska’s local financial management lacking?
Is Nebraska’s local financial management lacking?
Maybe it’s time the State of Nebraska look at investing in more auditors for local entities.
Extra money belongs to the Omaha taxpayer
Extra money belongs to the Omaha taxpayer
An excess in reserves for OPS creates an opportunity to do the right thing - protect the taxpayer.
Why is it so tough to pass a budget?
Why is it so tough to pass a budget?
This story just came through on my news alerts, and while this doesn’t relate directly to Nebraska politics, truth be told, any action or inaction by the federal government has implications for both the state government, and Nebraska taxpayers. When I was in the Legislature–maybe in the first year–one of the more experienced legislators got...
Revenue Committee shelves changes to sales tax exemptions
Revenue Committee shelves changes to sales tax exemptions
It seems we have an answer to my previous question about sales tax exemptions and their part (if any) in the Revenue Committee’s 2020 legislative property tax proposal. So far, it looks like the committee won’t be including a proposal to remove sales tax exemptions right off the bat, instead relying on currently projected increases...
Revenue Committee focused on rural property tax issues
Revenue Committee focused on rural property tax issues
News from Lincoln tells us that the Revenue Committee has agreed on an approach to the property tax problem in Nebraska. “…a multi-year plan to address high property taxes should first target help for farmers and ranchers, with a particular emphasis on relief in school districts with high property tax levies…” As of right now,...
With October revenues up, state should save money or return to taxpayers
With October revenues up, state should save money or return to taxpayers
It is important to note from October’s revenue report that corporate income taxes are way above their forecast amount. This is because this tax is unreliable and could very easily be below forecast in the upcoming months. Another thing to point out is that all these tax revenues are above forecast, which means the state...
Over 30% of Nebraska state revenue comes from federal taxes
Over 30% of Nebraska state revenue comes from federal taxes
The Pew Charitable Trusts just released new analysis that shows around 1/3 of every state’s revenue came from the federal government in 2017. Nebraska was at 30.9%. The majority of this funding helps to pay for public services such as health care, education, transportation, and infrastructure. This is important for our lawmakers to be aware...
Will lawmakers punt on property tax reform?
Will lawmakers punt on property tax reform?
An article just posted by the Lincoln Journal Star reports on the Revenue Committee’s most recent plan to address the property tax problem in Nebraska. “The Legislature’s Revenue Committee on Tuesday changed course, tentatively focusing on a proposed $100 million annual increase in the state property tax credit fund during each of the next three...