I saw this article and thought it was interesting. Not trying to get on the renewable energy bandwagon, but we all knew at some point these were going to have to be disposed of when no longer operational. I found it most interesting they are sent to Wyoming because it is the only landfill in...
LB299 is already helping us have a more informed discussion about job licensing.
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...
Iowa now has legal sports betting at its casinos. How much revenue are they bringing in?
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...
Lots of discussions around Nebraska’s property tax problem have stemmed from the way we fund public education. Missouri, even though they have much lower property taxes, are also tackling how they fund public education. In lieu of the property tax discussions being had in the Nebraska Revenue Committee, I thought it would be helpful to...
Nonprofits and charities form a third or “independent sector” that delivers important services and benefits that neither governments nor profit-seeking businesses can deliver as effectively. The state and local taxing entities should be careful not to supplant these institutions of civil society. What do I mean? In Scottsbluff one of the top local stories was...
A state auditor's report found the city of Friend had been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more for items such as pool chemicals and paper towels that were routinely sold to other Nebraska towns for much less. According to a Lincoln Journal Star article, "Auditors laid blame on the vague purchase descriptions provided to...
Last year Nebraska was ranked the 26th best business tax climate in the nation. This year we dropped 2 spots to 28th. Wisconsin and Oklahoma are the two states that passed us. Nebraska Rank Overall Rank 28th (-2) Corporate Taxes 31st (-2) Individual Taxes 21st (no change) Sales Taxes 10th (-2) Property Taxes 41 (no...
Many people misunderstand the difference between engaging in partisanship and holding differences of opinion on policy issues.
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...
Folks in "liberal Massachusetts" are currently looking at the cost of occupational licensing, thanks to a report from the Pioneer Institute (with help from our friends at the Institute for Justice). Their report points out some of the many inconsistencies like those we've seen in Nebraska. For instance, as this Boston Globe article points out,...
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...