The Full Platter

LB 754 fiscal and economic impact

LB 754 fiscal and economic impact

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...

By Michael Lucci

Missouri House advances bill to cut its corporate tax in half

Missouri House advances bill to cut its corporate tax in half

North Carolina made state tax history in 2021 by passing a law to eliminate the state’s corporate income tax by the end of 2026. Although the Tarheel State will be the first to repeal its corporate income tax, it probably won’t be the last. In fact, Missouri is advancing a bill to slash its corporate...

By Michael Lucci

LB 754 keeps Nebraska’s income tax progressive

LB 754 keeps Nebraska’s income tax progressive

Nebraska has a progressive state income tax. This means that higher income earners pay a greater portion of their income in taxes than do lower income earners. If Nebraska lawmakers enact LB 754, a comprehensive income tax reform bill, the state will still have a progressive income tax.  Nebraska’s top income tax rate of 6.64%...

By Michael Lucci

Summary and analysis of income tax reform in LB 754

Summary and analysis of income tax reform in LB 754

Nebraska’s Revenue Committee advanced an amendment to LB 754 out of committee on a 7-1 vote last week, bringing Gov. Pillen’s income tax reform plan to the full Unicameral for debate.   The bill is a tour de force of income tax reforms. The individual and corporate income taxes are both overhauled by the bill, with...

By Michael Lucci

The state tax revolution sweeps across the Great Plains

The state tax revolution sweeps across the Great Plains

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...

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska’s tax code should encourage remote workers to move in

Nebraska’s tax code should encourage remote workers to move in

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...

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska should join the responsible state budget revolution

Nebraska should join the responsible state budget revolution

Nebraska’s Revenue Committee is advancing a broad overhaul of the state’s tax code. These reforms, if enacted, would bring the Cornhusker State in line with the ongoing state tax revolution.    During the post-pandemic era, states are turning away from progressive tax structures and creating lower, flatter income taxes. And mobile workers are moving towards states...

By Michael Lucci

Pole replacement and underground fund would empower broadband deployment in Nebraska

Pole replacement and underground fund would empower broadband deployment in Nebraska

Nebraskans are more reliant on broadband connectivity now than ever. Connectivity is important for people accessing government services, online banking, education, health care, and remote work. Connectivity is important to Nebraska’s largest industry – agriculture. Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers need access to agricultural technologies to increase yields and conserve resources. Small businesses are also very...

By Nicole Fox

Priorities for the 108th Nebraska legislature

Priorities for the 108th Nebraska legislature

At the writing of this blog, the 108th Nebraska Legislature is entering the 7th week of its 90-day session. A massive 812 bills were introduced in the first 10 days of the new session, each receiving a public committee hearing before full-day floor debates begin. Striking this year is the attention the Governor and legislative...

By Jim Smith

Nebraska’s Surging Tax Revenues Should Accelerate Reforms

Nebraska’s Surging Tax Revenues Should Accelerate Reforms

What to do with Nebraska’s surging tax revenues is a problem every policymaker would like to face. Nebraska legislative leaders have already pointed to the best solution. Senator Lou Ann Linehan, who chairs the Revenue Committee, argued that the surplus revenue “has to go back to the taxpayer.” The best way to do that, Sen....

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska’s Cottage Food Law Produces Opportunities

Nebraska’s Cottage Food Law Produces Opportunities

In 2019, the Platte Institute worked with Senator Sue Crawford to pass the Nebraska Cottage Food Law. LB304 created a registration framework allowing in-home producers of shelf-stable foods to sell their products legally beyond farmers’ markets. This opened up the opportunity for year-round sales and delivery–from the kitchen or via mail order or personal delivery....

By Laura Ebke

Nebraska Income Tax Modernization

Nebraska Income Tax Modernization

Nebraska’s income tax was created in the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 and has been applied to both individuals and corporations since its creation. The income tax was increased soon after it was created, and it evolved into a less competitive structure over its first few decades. Nebraska policymakers took steps to improve the competitiveness...

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska Sales Tax Modernization

Nebraska Sales Tax Modernization

Nebraska was one of the last states to adopt a sales tax, allowing the Cornhusker State to benefit from the decades of sales tax experience in other states. Nebraska policymakers can once again fuse their knowledge from decades of sales tax experience with the principles of sound taxation to update Nebraska’s sales tax for the...

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska property tax modernization

Nebraska property tax modernization

Nebraska’s property tax is older than the state itself, and old taxes benefit from being updated as the state economy evolves. Property taxation was first instituted in 1857, under a territorial legislature, and then became a statewide tax when Nebraska achieved statehood in 1867. Nebraska leaders have iteratively updated the property tax system throughout the...

By Michael Lucci