Gov. Jim Pillen speaks Aug. 27, 2023, in La Vista, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Despite pushback on many of the proposals to get there, Gov. Jim Pillen said Wednesday he remains committed to his ambitious goal of reducing state property taxes by 40% via shifts to other taxes.
“We’re going to get to 40% if we have to have a (legislative) session every day until Christmas,” Pillen told members of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce during a noon luncheon address.
“Guaranteed,” he added.
Over the last two weeks, a series of public hearings on property tax relief proposals introduced on behalf of the governor brought out a wave of objectors, as well as some supporters.
Opposed by some as tax shift
Groups as diverse as the progressive OpenSky Policy Institute and the conservative Americans for Prosperity hammered Pillen’s idea to raise state sales tax rate by 1 cent — to 6.5 cents — as hurting low-income Nebraskans and as an unacceptable tax “shift.”
A flier circulated at a convenience store in Lincoln in opposition to a proposed $2-a-pack increase in taxes on cigarettes to help reduce property taxes. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)