Back in January, we told the story of Geraldine Tyler’s challenge of Hennepin County, Minnesota’s taking of her property to collect back property taxes, and her loss of any equity interest remaining. While no one denies that the government can seize property to collect back taxes and fines, the question is really about how much...
Two school bond elections in Omaha-area schools succeeded by a 2-1 margin on May 9, authorizing more than $120 million in new debt and taxes for the school districts. The bond proceeds are committed to infrastructure and construction costs for the districts. This result wasn’t unusual for a local school bond election, and is matched...
As the glow of Nebraska’s annual Spring Game leads to dreams of hearing “We’re Number 1” at Memorial Stadium, there is one area of policy where Nebraska is “number one” in our conference/region—but being number one is not a good thing. The Archbridge Institute recently released its first State Occupational Licensing Index, and Nebraska’s position...
Nebraska has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul its tax code in 2023. A successful tax reform will pay dividends for generations. Nebraska has large revenue surpluses, and the best thing to do with the surplus revenue stream is to return most of it to the productive private economy through thoughtful and sustainable tax reform. This...
Nebraska lawmakers took a key step towards historic tax reform last week. Revenue Committee lawmakers voted to consolidate several tax reforms into LB 754 and to advance the tax package out of committee on Thursday, March 16. Nebraska’s legislative progress comes not a moment too soon, as major tax reform proposals are advancing across the...
Nebraska has one of the most aggressive regimes for taxation of non-resident income in the country, according to new rankings from the National Taxpayers Union. While raising tax revenues from non-Nebraskans might seem like found money, it also ensures that many non-Nebraskans will never visit Nebraska for work purposes. Tax compliance is heavy for remote...
In recent years, states around the country have started experimenting with different methods of voting. Ranked Choice Voting. Instant Runoff Voting. Open Primaries. Approval Voting. All of these methods of voting are being proposed or experimented with in an assortment of configurations in different jurisdictions. From local elections to statewide elections; from primary elections to...
High Resolution Downloadable Study Here. Introduction Nebraska’s property tax burden is the central issue in the state’s tax debate. Property taxes are high and unevenly distributed, making it hard to develop clean solutions for direct tax reduction. Indeed, legislative action in the last several sessions shows that Nebraska lawmakers are working to tame the state’s...
As we prepare for the new legislative session, Nebraska’s facing a substantially changed landscape in the Unicameral. There are 16 new state senators, which is nearly one in every three legislative seats. In addition, our governor’s office is transitioning and a wave of retirements is occurring for legislative employees responsible for the important behind the...
The elections are over, and Nebraskans now know who will be representing them in the Nebraska Legislature. People run for public office for a variety of reasons. For many, the decision is because they want to make a difference and help others. For some, they feel that elected officials currently serving have let them down....
Nebraska ranks 39th in the country for property tax competitiveness. How do we modernize our tax policy to keep and attract more people? Today, we’re talking about the future of Nebraska’s tax policy and how we compare to other states. Given the changes in the economy, states are competing to keep their current population and...
For decades, Nebraska’s public school funding system has exerted major influence over the state’s tax policy. In 1989, the state adopted the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Act (TEEOSA), in an attempt to alleviate disparities in property tax burdens and education funding between districts by having the state take on a larger responsibility in funding...
Foreword by Jim Smith Jim Smith is Chief Strategy Officer at the Platte Institute and former President of Blueprint Nebraska. He also previously served as a State Senator and chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. In 2018 and 2019, I had the opportunity to work with business leaders from across...
The complete economic and fiscal impact report on the Blueprint Nebraska tax modernization plan by Regional Economic Models, Inc. is available in PDF format at this link. This page provides Blueprint Nebraska’s summary of that report. Nebraska has an outdated tax system that features relatively high taxes and inefficient and unpredictable funding of essential government services....