As the tail end of the legislative session approaches, it’s important for Nebraska lawmakers to keep their eyes on the prize of state tax competitiveness. Revenue uncertainty requires that lawmakers redouble their focus on fiscal discipline and tax competitiveness. For Nebraska, tax competitiveness isn’t just a national issue, it’s a neighborhood issue. Since the year...
President Trump is working with Congressional leaders to produce one “big beautiful bill” that will set the tax and spending baselines for a decade. The bill would be enacted through the Senate’s budget reconciliation process, likely along slim partisan lines. Such a federal package would likely contain a complement of policies, from tax changes to...
As Nebraska lawmakers work to close a revenue gap and consider additional property tax relief, they should focus on revenue sources with the wherewithal to produce revenue over time. Unfortunately, the tobacco tax hike proposed in an amendment 603 to LB 170 not only would fail to be an enduring revenue source, it would risk...
Nebraska’s property tax ranks 45th in the nation for overall property tax competitiveness, according to the Tax Foundation’s annual state rankings. One reason that Nebraska’s property tax is so uncompetitive is because the overall property tax burden is so high and because Nebraska’s property tax caps are too loose. These problems are interrelated. Over time, effective...
K-12 school districts account for over $3 billion of all Nebraska property tax collections, making up 60% of the whole. So if lawmakers are looking to deliver tax relief, school district property taxes are a natural target. Lawmakers have used tools from tax credits (beginning with 2020’s LB 1107) to new education funding (such as...
Education is the cornerstone of opportunity, and in Nebraska, community college Dual Enrollment has emerged as a game-changer for high school students. By allowing students to earn college credits while still in high school, Dual Enrollment not only accelerates academic achievement but also fosters long-term success in higher education and beyond. For the past five...
The Frasier Institute recently published its Economic Freedom of North American 2024 report. The study looks at indices of economic freedom from around the world. It compiles them into scorings of economic freedom that can compare states within their countries and across country borders. For instance, one set of scores allows us to compare Nebraska,...
This week, the Government Committee will hear the last of our GOAT (Government Oversight, Accountability, and Transparency) bills. LB662, carried by Senator Andersen, is identified as a “Federal Funds Inventory.” The bill would require annual reporting of federal funds received by agencies participating in the state budget process. The report would require the agency to...
Today, district school boundaries determine where kids go to school and in return, their educational outcomes. This process in Nebraska separates families and kids from educational options that may better suit their needs in the public-school setting. Unfortunately, in Nebraska, students and families may be turned away from another district if they decide their neighborhood...
Nebraskans want property tax relief, and lawmakers continue to seek options to deliver tax relief without fueling local government overspending. And unlike in the flush revenue years of 2021-2023, lawmakers also face tightening budgets in upcoming fiscal years. One option for property tax relief is to continue removing smaller property tax levies altogether. For example,...
Nebraska policymakers have been focused on property tax relief for 5 years, and for good reason. According to Tax Foundation’s most recent analysis, Nebraska’s property taxes are the eighth-highest in the country and higher than any neighboring state. Tax Foundation calculated Nebraska’s average effective property tax rate to be 1.44% in 2022. This rate is...
The Platte Institute has joined with six state senators to roll out a package of bills aimed at modernizing and streamlining Nebraska’s regulatory environment to be as efficient and accountable as possible. The GOAT (an acronym for Government Oversight Accountability and Transparency) is a bipartisan effort of senators representing urban and rural districts around the...
Nebraska’s Revenue Committee faces an unusual challenge this year. Federal lawmakers are likely to change the federal tax code in ways that will impact Nebraska’s revenue streams, and the federal changes will occur during the legislative session. Speaker Mike Johnson announced his intent to pass President Trump’s budgetary agenda within 100 days through the budgetary...
The Platte Institute’s Legislative Issue Guide for the 109th Legislature provides a concise and up-to-date public policy guide for state and local policymakers. The topics included in this guide reflect public policy best practices targeted at reducing barriers to economic opportunity in the 2025-26 biennium and beyond. To download the full Legislative Issue Guide for...