LR2CA Emerges as partial solution to property tax problem
LR2CA Emerges as partial solution to property tax problem
LR2CA, a constitutional amendment proposed by Senator Tom Brandt, emerged as an interesting option with significant support during Friday’s special session. While this proposal would not immediately change property taxes, it would open a constitutional door for legislators to tax different property types differently. Article VIII of the Nebraska Constitution defines the types of taxes...
By Laura Ebke
Jim Vokal’s Weekly Email: I’m Frustrated Again…
Jim Vokal’s Weekly Email: I’m Frustrated Again…
I’m frustrated – again. It’s the time of year when we are all braving the heat and the release of countless budgets across the state. And the majority of the elected officials crafting and approving budgets are making the case not only for a Special Legislative Session to reduce property taxes, but reinforcing my number...
By Jim Vokal
Special Session Legislative Testimony
Special Session Legislative Testimony
The Special Legislative Session to address property taxes has officially begun, and our team is hard at work advocating for sound policy and opposing proposals that would hurt Nebraska. So far this session, we have provided testimony on the following bills: LB 1– This bill, carried by Senator Linehan, is Governor Pillen’s plan to...
By Jim Vokal
Property Tax Reform Policy Vision
Property Tax Reform Policy Vision
The purpose of Platte Institute’s tax vision document is to lay out the principles that Platte Institute believes should guide the ongoing property tax reform efforts. First, we will lay out actions to avoid with explanation. Then we will argue for accomplishing fundamental policy deliverables that are necessary for the successful delivery of property tax...
By Michael Lucci
Iowa accelerates tax reform
Iowa accelerates tax reform
Iowa’s spending restraint has allowed the Hawkeye State to accelerate previously-enacted tax reforms. Thanks to a package of new tax reforms, Iowa’s income tax will be lowered to a flat 3.8% beginning in 2025, far less than half the state’s 8.98% top rate when Iowa’s tax reforms began. The Hawkeye State’s accelerating tax relief adds...
By Michael Lucci
Unstable revenue sources make unsustainable tax reform
Unstable revenue sources make unsustainable tax reform
Sustainable tax reform depends upon sustainable revenue sources. And while Platte Institute has been critical of a state-local tax swap because it uses state funds to subsidize local spending, it’s also worth clarifying that not all state funding sources are created equally. Regardless of Platte’s position on tax swaps, no tax reform should be built...
By Michael Lucci
Nebraska’s competitive sales tax and historic 2023 income tax reform must be protected
Nebraska’s competitive sales tax and historic 2023 income tax reform must be protected
As Platte Institute wrote in National Review last year, Nebraska achieved the best tax reform in the country in 2023, delivering long-overdue income tax reform and dramatically enhancing the state’s competitiveness. It was the type of achievement that lawmakers wait a whole career to accomplish. The 2023 income tax reform will phase in over several...
By Michael Lucci
96% of Nebraska income losses go to lower tax states
96% of Nebraska income losses go to lower tax states
Capital flows to where it is most welcome. A state’s tax burden is one factor that contributes to how welcoming a state is to new flows of capital. This lesson should always be on the mind of state lawmakers as they adjust their state tax code each year. While reforming the tax code is important,...
By Michael Lucci
Property tax relief should focus on cutting school levies
Property tax relief should focus on cutting school levies
Governor Jim Pillen seeks to cut Nebraska property taxes by 40% through a tax package that includes raising new state tax revenues in order to fund local property tax cuts. Gov. Pillen seeks $2 billion in new property tax relief balanced against $5.3 billion in total property taxes. In Platte Institute’s assessment of the options...
By Michael Lucci
The unintended consequences of cigarette tax increases
The unintended consequences of cigarette tax increases
Sin taxes are levied on products that are believed to have a societal cost. And tobacco products are a frequent target for sin taxes. Yet ironically, high cigarette taxes create their own societal costs because they result in illicit interstate smuggling and criminal behavior. A pack of cigarettes in Chicago includes a whopping $7.16 in...
By Michael Lucci
Keep prices low and businesses competitive by avoiding taxation on business purchases
Keep prices low and businesses competitive by avoiding taxation on business purchases
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...
By Michael Lucci
Governor Pillen’s Property Tax Plans: Options and Tradeoffs
Governor Pillen’s Property Tax Plans: Options and Tradeoffs
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...
By Michael Lucci
Governor Jim Pillen’s Tax Triumphs and the Future of Tax Reform
Governor Jim Pillen’s Tax Triumphs and the Future of Tax Reform
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...
By Michael Lucci
Principles of Good Tax Policy
Principles of Good Tax Policy
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...
By Jim Smith