Platte Institute

See the new database of Nebraska state employee salaries

The Platte Institute, The Flatwater Free Press, and Code for Nebraska have published an online, searchable database of state government workers and their salaries. You can find the site anytime at salaries.flatwaterfreepress.org. The Platte Institute has long prioritized good governance in all our policy initiatives, and one of the fundamental principles of good governance is openness...

By Sarah Curry

Forecast calls for $475 million boost to Nebraska tax receipts

Today, the Nebraska Revenue Forecasting Board convened to meet its statutory obligation to update the state’s revenue estimates. These figures will be used when the Legislature convenes in January 2022 until the forecast is updated again at the end of February. The theme in today’s meeting was inflation—the impact it will have on the state’s...

By Sarah Curry

Senator John McCollister: Nebraska should adopt universal recognition of job licensing

The Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee of the Nebraska Legislature held a hearing today on an interim study resolution, LR191, sponsored by Sen. John McCollister. LR191’s purpose was to explore the effect that universal recognition would have on groups that have traditionally faced barriers to occupational licensing, like those with military experience, low-income residents...

By Laura Ebke

$50 million in Nebraska property tax relief goes unclaimed, total may rise

In a late 2020 Nebraska Legislature session delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, senators enacted a new property tax relief program under Legislative Bill 1107. The program created a state income tax credit that went into effect for the 2020 tax year. Nebraska real property owners were able to file in 2021 and receive credit from...

By Sarah Curry

Jim Vokal & Ian Swanson discuss Nebraska’s labor shortage and solutions with Mike Beyer

Ian Swanson of KFAB News hosted Jim Vokal and Mike Beyer to discuss universal recognition for licenses, career experience, and military specialties workers bring from outside Nebraska. Listen to “Jim Vokal – CEO of the Platte Institute” on Spreaker.

(Webinar) A Place to Live: Challenges & Opportunities for Housing in Nebraska

Valentine, Nebraska Mayor Kyle Arganbright, Dr. Emily Hamilton of the Mercatus Center, Kathy Mesner of Mesner Development, and Grace Thomas of the Verdis Group and Omaha’s Missing Middle Housing Campaign discuss the role housing will play in the growth of Nebraska communities, and in some cases, their economic survival. This webinar is also available in...

September 2021: Nebraska unemployment reached new record low

In August, Nebraska saw its lowest unemployment rate since the state started keeping records of unemployment data in 1976. At 2.2%, the August rate was also the lowest in the nation. Nebraska’s September unemployment figures have now been released and the state is again posting the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and the lowest rate...

By Sarah Curry

Nebraskanomics: Growing Nebraska’s Workforce with Mike Beyer

With more than 50,000 jobs currently available in Nebraska, Jim discusses ways to remove barriers to welcoming more workers to Nebraska with Navy veteran and Nebraska-licensed electrician Mike Beyer. A transcript of the discussion can be found below. You can watch the video on YouTube or listen to the podcast episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Jim...

Nebraska state revenues continue positive trend in September 2021

Nebraska’s September state tax revenue collections continue to be positive, as all major tax types (sales, personal income tax, and corporate income tax) are posting above forecast. The only tax type not to meet its expected forecast are miscellaneous taxes. This tax category includes cigarette and tobacco taxes, the state tire fee, mechanical amusement device...

By Sarah Curry

Nebraska has a foreign tax with a local impact

There have been a lot of tax changes at the state and federal level in the last few years, one of which is the taxation of foreign income, otherwise known as GILTI. GILTI stands for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income. It’s a category of income that is earned abroad by U.S.-controlled foreign corporations and is subject to special treatment under...

By Sarah Curry

Nebraska veteran wins battle for civilian career opportunity

Here’s an update in the story of Bridgeport, Nebraska veteran Mike Beyer. Upon completing eight years in the U.S. Navy as a construction electrician, along with an 8,000-hour apprenticeship in the military, Mike was prevented from testing for a Nebraska license to begin his civilian career. In this video, Mike explains how sharing his story...

What should Nebraska do with more federal money?

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented amount of money sent to the state of Nebraska from the federal government. First, the CARES Act sent $1.25 billion directly to the state. However, when you include all the money sent to the various agencies and operations, the total was closer to $10 billion. Then, the...

By Sarah Curry

Nebraska’s unemployment trust fund is now above pre-pandemic levels

During the height of the pandemic and directed health measures that caused businesses across the state to close, Nebraska saw its unemployment rate jump to 8.3%, or 86,300 people actively looking for work. This was the most people filing unemployment claims ever in the history of recording unemployment data. Nebraska paid a total of $1,423,551,932...

By Sarah Curry

What’s the status of property tax relief?

For 2021, the Nebraska Legislature increased funding for the Property Tax Credit Fund by $25 million, to a total of $300 million. The state distributes the money from the fund to local taxing subdivisions. Then, your county treasurer credits your property tax bill based on your valuation. However, it has no bearing on how much...

By Jim Vokal