After hours of debate over several days, Nebraska lawmakers have given initial approval to personal and corporate income tax cuts backed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.
The vote was 40-1, but several senators made it clear they were voting yes to to advance the measure through the first of 3 rounds and still had reservations about who would benefit the most and the likely revenue losses for the state.
The bill sponsors promised to work on fine-tuning it to try to ease some of those concerns.
Some lawmakers said they were especially opposed to the corporate income tax cut, which would reduce the tax burden on large corporations that sell items and services in Nebraska but are headquartered in other states.
Businesses say cutting the corporate income tax rate would encourage companies to invest in Nebraska and keep the state competitive with its neighbors.