State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chair of the Revenue Committee, addresses an income tax package on the floor of the Legislature on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The effort by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha to add one cent to the state sales tax and shift more of the tax burden to sales taxes from property taxes faced another round of stiff resistance Wednesday.
Linehan’s Legislative Bill 1315 received the backing of the Nebraska Association of County Officials and agricultural organizations, including the Nebraska Farm Bureau. Both argued the value of balancing the state’s “three-legged stool.”
Nebraska lawmakers for years have argued that the stool’s three legs of taxation — income, sales and property — are out of balance. The state cut income taxes in 2023 and pledged $1 billion in school spending aimed at lowering property taxes.
Gov. Jim Pillen recently urged members of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee to “tune out the noise” and have the courage to pass his proposed new taxes to reduce property taxes. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)