Nebraska Tax Reform

[schriznoeder]

6 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

The transition away from relying heavily on property taxes in Nebraska is needed.  If we were in a state where the majority of the land is owned by lots of people in small plots, it would be different.  BUT....instead, we have a situation where we have a small population with a large amount of land, which is owned by a small amount of the population.  The industry that the land is used in, isn't like oil, gas or coal where there's huge amounts of profit/revenue to pay large amounts or taxes.  So, we have a large amount of the tax burden on agriculture.  That tax burden needs to be leveled out to other members of the population.  

 

I'm open to lots of ideas on how to make that happen.  I'm also of the belief that companies selling retail into the state, should be collecting and paying sales tax.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not against reducing the tax burden on our agricultural sector - I totally agree that this needs to happen. I would just like to make up for that reduced revenue by creating new revenue streams rather than just shifting the burden somewhere else. 

[BigRedBuster]

4 hours ago, RavHuskr said:

This isn't the entire reason.  Colorado has TABOR that restricts the state from keeping excess money and has to refund it to the people.  This usually amounts to like $20 a person.

  Secondly the voters consistently vote down public works projects or school funding and the legislature can never come up with a bill everyone can agree on.  So there is money there but gets put into pet projects instead of tangible ones. 

Lastly you decriminalize marijuana and besides the tax gain from this there would be less incarcerated individuals which also helps the state budget especially if it was legalized.

All valid points. 

 

All I know is I know people who love there and their pissed that they deal with the problems of the pot but don’t see the benefit. 

[RavHuskr]

I understand I lived in the Denver metro for 17 years and moved back to Nebraska a couple years ago because all I saw was more and more growth and everything getting more expensive and crowded.

[BigRedBuster]

22 hours ago, schriznoeder said:

Tourism revenue. We need more tourism revenue NOW.

 

Well, here's an effort to grow at least some tourism dollars.

 

 

[schriznoeder]

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

Well, here's an effort to grow at least some tourism dollars.

 

 

 

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[schriznoeder]

Seriously, this is your best idea?! Stop trying to shift the tax burden, and start finding new sources of revenue instead. 

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

22 minutes ago, schriznoeder said:

Seriously, this is your best idea?! Stop trying to shift the tax burden, and start finding new sources of revenue instead. 

Actually, both are needed.  We rely way too much on property taxes.  So, some of that needs shifted.  We also need more revenue so we need new sources.  That is only going to come from increasing the population, increasing industry in the state....or both.

[schriznoeder]

30 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Actually, both are needed.  We rely way too much on property taxes.  So, some of that needs shifted.  We also need more revenue so we need new sources.  That is only going to come from increasing the population, increasing industry in the state....or both.

 

I don't disagree. And I probably should have elaborated more in my post. I'm just tired of the same old "We have a solution!" spiel, only to find out the solution is "Let's increase sales tax!" 

 

Like I said in an earlier post...

 

On 1/31/2019 at 4:00 PM, schriznoeder said:

Just to clarify, I'm not against reducing the tax burden on our agricultural sector - I totally agree that this needs to happen. I would just like to make up for that reduced revenue by creating new revenue streams rather than just shifting the burden somewhere else. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

1 minute ago, schriznoeder said:

 

I don't disagree. And I probably should have elaborated more in my post. I'm just tired of the same old "We have a solution!" spiel, only to find out the solution is "Let's increase sales tax!" 

 

Like I said in an earlier post...

 

 

Well, shifting the tax burden can happen much quicker and easier than creating new revenue streams.  It needs to happen for agriculture.  Population and industry take a lot of time and it's not easy.  The population isn't going to all of a sudden jump by 500,000.  The state is already pretty aggressive trying to get new industry in.  That's the part I'm actually involved in and that is a very slow and tedious process.....and you have to have some good luck.

[schriznoeder]

3 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Well, shifting the tax burden can happen much quicker and easier than creating new revenue streams.  It needs to happen for agriculture.  Population and industry take a lot of time and it's not easy.  The population isn't going to all of a sudden jump by 500,000.  The state is already pretty aggressive trying to get new industry in.  That's the part I'm actually involved in and that is a very slow and tedious process.....and you have to have some good luck.

 

I totally get it - I guess I'm just looking at things from a utopian viewpoint.

 

I know you're involved in agriculture. Do you mind me asking what specific new industry you're trying to bring in? 

[BigRedBuster]

4 minutes ago, schriznoeder said:

 

I totally get it - I guess I'm just looking at things from a utopian viewpoint.

 

I know you're involved in agriculture. Do you mind me asking what specific new industry you're trying to bring in? 

I'm in agriculture because I manage my family farm.

 

However, I'm also heavily involved in local business development that works fairly closely with the state.  Over the last 10 years, it's a pretty wide range of types of industry we have tried to bring in.

[QMany]

I’m moving to Omaha/Elkhorn soon and have been shocked how high residential property taxes are compared to Overland Park, KS 

[Danny Bateman]

46 minutes ago, QMany said:

I’m moving to Omaha/Elkhorn soon and have been shocked how high residential property taxes are compared to Overland Park, KS 

 

I don't really pay attention to state politics that much because I'm sure it will not be something I want to hear like 99.9% of the time but my understanding is property taxes are the biggest thing people complain about year after year.

[funhusker]

1 hour ago, QMany said:

I’m moving to Omaha/Elkhorn soon and have been shocked how high residential property taxes are compared to Overland Park, KS 

Hey, welcome!

 

And yeah, I feel your pain.....

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

Quote

 

Dear Friend, There is a definite sense of frustration on all sides as the 2019 Nebraska Legislature draws to a close this week. While many taxpayers may have never bothered to get their hopes up, senators in this year’s legislative class were determined to offer new ideas for property tax reform. But because those policies could not even muster a simple majority from their colleagues, a group of mostly rural legislators withdrew their support for reauthorizing Nebraska’s largest tax incentive program, which is scheduled to expire next year.  This stalemate certainly makes you wonder if it’s possible to get two-thirds of the senators to agree on any kind of significant change in next year’s 60 day session. Other states do seem to be able to figure this out, though. In Texas, lawmakers passed a property tax reform plan that contains some elements debated this year in Nebraska. Texas is famously known for its low tax burden, especially for its absence of a personal income tax. However, Texas’ property tax burden is much like Nebraska’s. With the Lone Star State’s extraordinary growth, Texans wanted to know they wouldn’t be taxed out of their homes. Most local governments will now adhere to property tax revenue growth caps, similar to a constitutional amendment proposed by Governor Ricketts in Nebraska. The caps would be on existing properties, not new growth, and would require voter approval to be exceeded. That will limit increases, but not cut property taxes. In addition, Texas school property tax rates are expected to be reduced by 8 cents per $100 of valuation in 2020 and 13 cents in 2021. School districts would not have a revenue cap subject to voter override like other political subdivisions, but would instead follow a measure similar to Nebraska’s new LB103, where valuation increases exceeding 2.5% would result in automatic levy reductions. Certainly, we shouldn’t make too much of Texas beating us to the finish line this year. But the property tax reductions for Texans are expected to be more significant than what the property tax credit will yield for the average Nebraskan. That’s notable, since here in Nebraska, it took us 12 years to get to this point, and property tax increases are still a major threat. Without more reform, it won’t take long for the property tax credit increase to be consumed by local property tax hikes. While session may be over Friday, there’s still plenty of work to do starting today. Senators in the full Unicameral must engage with the Revenue Committee over the interim to better understand the policy options they are presenting and how they fit into the state’s overall vision. Nebraskans have their own work to do. Senators did pass LB103 earlier this year, which places limits on how local governments can go about adopting property tax increases due to rising valuations. Local political subdivisions will have to reduce levies as values rise, or hold a public hearing and then vote to adopt a levy increase. For the moment, participating in these hearings, or on local boards, may be one of the few tools we have for holding the line. Until a more significant reform of the property tax system occurs, either through legislative action next year, or as a result of a ballot initiative, Nebraska taxpayers will need to remain vigilant at the local level.  Thanks for reading, Jim