A lawsuit over city ordinances imposed on home bakers and cottage food producers in Lincoln can move forward. Lancaster County District Court Judge John A. Colborn rejected the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed by area home baker Cindy Harper earlier this year. The city had shut down Harper’s home-based baking operation,...
A typical zoning hearing in Grand Island shows some of the challenges Nebraska faces in addressing its housing shortage. People will acknowledge more housing is needed, but many current homeowners don’t want new housing to be located near their properties, particularly if it requires changes in zoning that alters the type or style of housing...
The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met today and increased the forecast for the expected tax revenue the state will receive during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. While this was one of the regularly scheduled meetings, this meeting had a completely different mood and focus due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and recent legislative changes....
“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” – Thomas Sowell People run for public office for a variety of reasons. For many, the decision is because they want...
Today, the 2021 State Business Tax Climate Index was released. Nebraska’s rank has remained unchanged from last year, which is unsurprising, because structural reform has not been accomplished in the Cornhusker State. However, states rising in the rankings, like Kentucky and North Carolina, have significantly overhauled their tax codes and have seen the positive benefits...
In any organization, maintaining the status quo can create an opening for competitors to gain on you and even surpass you. That is exactly what’s happening to Nebraska with our latest ranking in the Tax Foundation’s 2021 State Business Tax Climate Index. In 2020, despite passing major tax legislation, Nebraska lawmakers did nothing to structurally...
Many of us focus on the most hated tax in Nebraska, which is the property tax, but did you know the income tax can change some people’s minds about business decisions and even who they vote for? A tweet from rapper-turned-actor and entrepreneur 50 Cent implies he’d prefer the Trump tax policy based on analysis of...
The Nebraska Department of Labor reports that September’s state unemployment rate remains the lowest in the country, at 3.5%. Last month’s rate is half a percentage point higher than the state unemployment rate was this time last year, but continues a trend back toward pre-pandemic employment levels. The department reports that education and health, professional...
Just as the Great Recession gave rise to a generation of food truck entrepreneurs, Jadomté Mobile Nail Bar is finding its niche during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of providing manicures and pedicures from a brick and mortar location, owner and nail artist Sabrina Mahupete built the Jadomté salon inside a trailer, allowing her to hitch...
Where did all the CARES Act money go in Nebraska? Federal taxpayers in Nebraska have a right to know the answer. The Platte Institute published a report calling for more transparency in mid-September, and less than a month later the state published its dashboard providing that added transparency. The state’s dashboard shows that $587 million...
The Nebraska Department of Revenue released their report for September’s 2020 General Fund tax revenues today, and the state is continuing to recover from the recession we entered just a short 6 months ago. According to the department, the actual tax revenues are 5.4% higher for the fiscal year than projected by the state’s revenue forecasting...
Many states have undertaken a series of occupational licensing reforms across the country—some comprehensive and some piecemeal. From regular licensing reviews to expanding licensing opportunities, to eliminating licenses that no longer make sense in today’s context, to removing exclusions for those who have felonies in their backgrounds, many policymakers recognize that licensing requirements can limit...
Most of the focus for the election this year has been on the presidential race, but did you know many states have property tax initiatives on their ballot this year? California Proposition 15 would undo the protections of California’s historic Proposition 13 property tax limitations and introduce “split roll” property taxation—commercial properties would be assessed...
The service industry makes up a large part of Nebraska’s economy, and as noted in a previous policy brief, was heavily impacted by COVID-19. During the early months of the COVID pandemic, both restaurants and bars suffered significant revenue losses. While Gov. Ricketts did not completely shut down the state, the Directed Health Measures (DHM’s)...