Nebraska State Capitol by Jimmy Emerson, DVM is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Nebraska legislature has taken major steps toward property tax relief, yet key amendments have been proposed to undercut the bill with tax increases. Americans for Tax Reform strongly urges all Nebraska legislators to reject any amendments that raise taxes on Nebraskans.
Nebraska legislators have done an admirable job rejecting tax increases throughout the special session and have proven that there’s no appetite for raising taxes in the Cornhusker state.
Local caps and spending cuts are a good first step in addressing property taxes and can provide relief without simultaneously shifting the tax burden elsewhere. However, each of the amendments under consideration would weaken this relief by imposing new statewide taxes on numerous key industries, professional services, and consumer goods.
A last-minute hail-mary attempt to force votes on tax hikes is politically irresponsible and will weaken the current reform package. All legislators should reject any last-ditch efforts to impose tax hikes on Nebraska families.
As it currently stands, LB 34 changes the cap on how much local governments can take in for property taxes year over year. The bill sets the cap at 0%, in times of deflation, or at the level of inflation, based on the State and Local Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment index. This measure will go a long way toward addressing the problem of property taxes in Nebraska, and passing tax increases in addition to this measure will undermine it.
“A strong local tax revenue cap – like the one proposed in LB 34 – is a prime example of how to solve the property tax crisis in Nebraska for generations to come,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “On the other hand, raising taxes and imposing new ones can only undermine that progress. I strongly urge you to pass this bill as-is, vote against all amendments that raise taxes, and resist the temptation to take even more money out of the wallets of Nebraska families and businesses in the name of tax relief.”