VIDEO: Nebraska Losing Taxpayers 10 Years Running
VIDEO NEWS RELEASE from the Platte Institute
Video and audio recordings of today’s Platte Institute Virtual News Conference are now available for download. The video recording can be downloaded here. The audio recording can be downloaded here.
Contact: Adam Weinberg
(402) 500-0209
aweinberg@platteinstitute.org
IRS data show Nebraska losing taxpayers to other states
Among 10 worst states for taxpayer outmigration from 2019-2020
OMAHA, NE — Recently-released IRS data for the tax year between 2019 and 2020 show Nebraska lost a net of more than 2,300 tax returns to other states. Tax records show Nebraska’s relocated taxpayers took nearly $500 million in adjusted gross income (AGI), on net, to their new home states. Only five states lost more income than Nebraska as a percentage of their total AGI, and only 11 states lost more in total dollars.
The 2019-2020 tax season is the 10th consecutive year Nebraska has lost a net amount of taxpayers and residents to outmigration. The trend has continued in every year of available data for the 2000s, with the brief exception of 2010, when Nebraska gained a modest amount of taxpayers and residents from other states, while still continuing to lose net income.
Platte Institute Senior Policy Advisor Michael Lucci will break down the numbers in a Platte Institute Virtual News Conference on Zoom on Thursday, June 23 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time. The content of the conference may be rebroadcast or republished with attribution to the Platte Institute and its staff.
A detailed report, including four interactive graphics, is now available at PlatteInstitute.org.
Each graphic from the report may be viewed individually at these links:
Nebraska ranks near the bottom for gaining taxpayers
Which states are winning the competition for taxpayers?
Where Nebraska gained and lost income, tax year 2019-2020
Nebraska has experienced outmigration for 20 years
Nationally, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Florida, and South Carolina gained the most income when measured as a percentage of their total AGI. In terms of raw dollars, the biggest winners were Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Florida, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina were the top states gaining income from Nebraska in raw dollars. California, New York, Illinois, Wyoming, and Alaska provided net gains of AGI for Nebraska, but not enough to overcome its losses to other states.
Among states losing income overall, New York, Illinois, Alaska, California, and North Dakota were in the bottom five, followed by Nebraska. In terms of dollars, eleven states lost more income than Nebraska, with the five largest net losses being in New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
“IRS taxpayer migration data is considered the gold standard for taxpayer migration analysis. It captures the movements of everyone who files a tax return along with their dependents and income, and we’re seeing greater incentives for taxpayers to relocate because the amount of state and local tax they can deduct on their federal return is now capped,” Michael Lucci said.
“In the course of that one tax year, about 800,000 Americans ended up in a new state, so Nebraska lawmakers need to look at those trends and ask what types of policies are within their control that would help Nebraska make gains among people looking for a new place to live or work,” Lucci said.
For more information, please contact Adam Weinberg at (402) 500-0209 or aweinberg@platteinstitute.org.
The Platte Institute advances policies that remove barriers to growth and opportunity in Nebraska. Visit PlatteInstitute.org/Media to find more Platte Institute media resources.