Unfortunately, it’s not Nebraska that’s called a special session on taxes – it’s Utah! Utah has the nation’s 9th most favorable tax climate and one of the fastest growing economies in the nation – so what more is there to change? Well, research has shown that the state relies too much on the income tax...
Nebraska state senators are already making their positions known, as a property tax ballot campaign emerges as a 2020 campaign issue.
According to the NE Department of Revenue, the following are changes to the local sales and use taxes effective Jan 1, 2020: Gage County will start a new 0.5% county sales and use tax rate that is effective in the entire Gage County area. Deshler will start a new 1% city sales and use tax rate. Unadilla will start a new 1.5% city sales...
The proposal to be discussed includes an expansion of the state’s sales tax base.
Ever wonder how much our state has changed when it comes to tax policy? Well, in the spirit of Facebook’s ten-year challenge, here is Nebraska’s ten year tax challenge: 2009 to 2019. Here are some things to keep in mind. Slight changes in our tax rates can change our national ranking. For example, the individual...
Hat-tip to Jared Walczak at the Tax Foundation for pointing out this worthwhile read in the New York Times about an Ohio village where voters decided to abolish their local government in order to fend off a tax increase. Residents of Amelia, Ohio voted to disband the local political subdivision after their council imposed a...
Ever wonder how much revenue your county collects? Well, due to reporting standards I can’t pull this type of information for every county in the state – but luckily Douglas County makes it easy since they issue a standardized report each year. Here is a list of what types of revenues and how much was...
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...
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,...
A report from the Kansas City Federal Reserve late last week highlighted the findings from the Tenth District Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions where farm income in the region continued to decline. “Farm income decreased from a year ago across all states in the region, with some variation in the pace of decline. Compared with...
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...
So far, the state has been unable to curb property tax increases, despite now spending $275 million a year to subsidize the local taxes.
Reducing reliance on the property tax through ending Nebraska’s many sales tax exemptions can help create the right environment for revenue-neutral tax reform.
The Platte Institute is releasing a new guide on Nebraska's sales tax.