Removing Barriers for Nebraskans

State revenues look positive despite unexpected drop in corporate tax collections

State revenues look positive despite unexpected drop in corporate tax collections

The report for August 2020 state General Fund tax revenues was released today, September 15, and the state looks to be recovering from the recession we entered just a few months ago. According to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, the actual tax revenues are 6.4% higher for the fiscal year than projected by the state’s...

By Sarah Curry

Nebraska is cutting red tape, but still has room to improve

Nebraska is cutting red tape, but still has room to improve

Excessive regulations have harmful effects on prosperity and growth. In many cases, the compliance costs of these regulations constitute a hidden tax on businesses and citizens, costing valuable resources that could be contributing to Nebraska’s economic growth. Regulation is a necessity of our society, and we should not get rid of all regulations. But Nebraska...

By Sarah Curry

Manufacturing report card gives Nebraska an average GPA

Manufacturing report card gives Nebraska an average GPA

An annual assessment of state manufacturing and logistics industries by the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research finds that Nebraska ranks average among its peers, though the scorecard also notes Nebraska’s people and strong finances are advantages for its manufacturing potential. While the 2020 Manufacturing Scorecard does not give Nebraska a single...

By Adam Weinberg

City of Omaha waiving restaurant tax penalties

City of Omaha waiving restaurant tax penalties

Restaurants in the City of Omaha have received some good news. On September 3, Mayor Jean Stothert announced that the city’s Finance Department has been directed to forgive late fees on restaurant tax payments due from March through the end of 2020. Nebraska’s first positive COVID-19 case hit the Omaha metro on March 6. As...

By Nicole Fox

Don’t die in Nebraska: How the county inheritance tax works

Don’t die in Nebraska: How the county inheritance tax works

There are only six states in the nation that levy an inheritance tax, and Nebraska is one of them. In fact, Nebraska has the highest top rate at 18%. According to a local law firm, “When a person dies a resident of Nebraska or with property located in Nebraska, the Nebraska county inheritance tax will...

By Sarah Curry

Don’t be dense: Geography alone can’t explain Nebraska property taxes

Don’t be dense: Geography alone can’t explain Nebraska property taxes

There’s a common argument that Midwest and Plains states like Nebraska have high property taxes because they’re larger states with relatively small populations. The idea is that pooling our limited resources for more miles of roads and school buildings naturally means property taxes will be higher. It sounds sensible, but there are other possibilities. Nebraska...

By Adam Weinberg

Nebraska has cut red tape for these careers and businesses

Nebraska has cut red tape for these careers and businesses

Nebraska’s 2020 legislative session ended on August 13. In looking through the multiple occupational licensing reform bills that were signed into law just this year, Laura Ebke and I couldn’t help but notice how great of an impact the Platte Institute’s campaign for job licensing reform has had since we first supported a bill eliminating the...

By Nicole Fox

The future of ridesharing might be decided in California

The future of ridesharing might be decided in California

If you’ve traveled into an airport of any size in the last few years, the chances are that as you waited for a cab or airport shuttle, you’ve also seen lines of Ubers or Lyfts—vehicles and drivers part of the “ridesharing” economy. Or perhaps you’ve learned to use these services to get where you need...

By Laura Ebke

Nebraska’s unemployment rate falling, but still near Great Recession levels

Nebraska’s unemployment rate falling, but still near Great Recession levels

Following an uptick in unemployment in June, Nebraska’s preliminary July unemployment rate fell to the second-lowest in the country, but the jobless figure is still at historically elevated levels for the state. While any almost any state would be happy to trade places with Nebraska, the July unemployment rate of 4.8% is closer to the...

By Adam Weinberg

Why the online sales tax was a good move for Nebraska

Why the online sales tax was a good move for Nebraska

In 2019, Nebraskans started paying sales tax on most of their online purchases. Little did we know back then that this policy would help the state weather the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, “e-commerce retail sales totaled $211.5 billion in Q2, an increase of $51.1 billion or 31.8% from the...

By Sarah Curry

New property tax legislation will not help national ranking

New property tax legislation will not help national ranking

The 13th edition of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s national ranking of states was released, and Nebraska ranks 19th out of 50 on economic performance. (1 = best, 50 = worst) You might be asking yourself; how do they measure economic performance? Well, it looks backwards on how the state has performed in three different...

By Sarah Curry

The Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act: What’s good about it, and what’s not?

The Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act: What’s good about it, and what’s not?

As part of a last-minute compromise in LB1107, Nebraska state senators have given final approval to a new property tax relief program (not, as Sarah Curry notes, property tax reform). The new program expected to be signed into law is called the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act, which will join the list of other state...

Withholding taxes show impact of Nebraskans still out of work

Withholding taxes show impact of Nebraskans still out of work

It is no secret there are economic consequences to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some figures might be misleading policymakers and people’s perception of state revenues and the economy. While Nebraska is weathering the pandemic’s economic storm relatively better than many states, there is still reason to pause when looking at the revenue numbers. The federal...

By Sarah Curry

67% of Omaha town hall participants dissatisfied with property tax compromise

67% of Omaha town hall participants dissatisfied with property tax compromise

At our fifth and final Virtual Property Tax Town Hall of the summer, Omaha area voters and taxpayers had the chance to weigh in on a number of online straw polls on property tax issues. While most of these poll questions were asked of previous participants, the Legislature’s recent advancement of LB1107 gave us the...

By Adam Weinberg