A week after sending a much-amended version of Gov Jim Pillen’s income tax package to floor debate, the Nebraska legislature’s Revenue has advanced an equally amended property tax relief plan.
State Senator Tom Briese of Albion says each package will result in about $3-billion dollars in tax relief over the next 6 years.
His own plan to more than double property tax credits to $700-million dollars was trimmed about 20%, but would still be about $560-million by 2029.
Other parts of the property tax relief package cap revenue growth for school districts at 3%, eliminate the community college property tax with increased state funding, and remove a cap on the amount of income tax credits provided for property taxes paid.
Opposition to the two tax-cut packages is expected to focus on whether the state can handle a $6-billion dollar reduction in tax revenue, but Briese, a farmer and lawyer, doesn’t think they’ll jeopardize other state programs.
He says he’s “bullish” on the economy going forward and enjoying unprecedented revenue surplus, currently estimated at $2-billion dollars, adding that Nebraska has a resilient, ag-based economy that can weather economic downturns.
Jim Vokal, CEO of the conservative-leaning Platte Institute, applauds both packages, saying Nebraska “must lower taxes to increase growth and prosperity to all corners of the state, (especially “the important work of lowering property taxes.”.
Dr Rebecca Firestone, executive director of the more-liberal leaning OpenSky Policy Institute warns that much of the state surplus was artificially created by multiple federal stimulus packages during and coming out of the COVID pandemic.
Firestoney also says the surplus “offers a major opportunity to make strategic investments that could strengthen our workforce and our economy. Investments such as in affordable housing, quality child care, mental health care and accessible transportation.
She adds that “accelerating last year’s record tax cuts with a new set of tax breaks for the wealthiest Nebraskans and out of state corporations does little to help working families and small businesses facing economic challenges.”
My question. Is this property tax relief for both urban and rural properties? By the acre my city tax is way higher than the rural taxes, and I am not allowed to make any income on my city property.