Property taxes are a big issue- will progress be made this legislative session? Governor Ricketts says yes
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has a firm line when it comes to property tax relief negotiations.
He will not raise sales or income taxes in order to lower property taxes, Ricketts said.
Though he does agree property taxes are among the biggest issues in the state, especially for farmers and ranchers.
That’s something Merlyn Neilsen, a farmer, agrees with.
He’s part of a coalition of Nebraska farmers, called Fair Nebraska, who presented a plan to remove the tax burden from farmers and shift the cost of K-12 education to the state.
“There’s been a tremendous shift of burden on agriculture;” Neilsen said. “All we’re asking to do is to shift it back across all citizens who use the state government services.”
Fair Nebraska presented a study of their plan with the help of Creighton economist Dr. Ernie Goss.
Goss found Nebraska’s property tax rates to have risen significantly higher than that of surrounding states. In fact, in a study of Nebraska and six surrounding states Nebraska ranks 6th for the highest property taxes, only ahead of Wyoming.
Goss said this is largely due to how education is funded in the state. He said local governments are highly dependent on property taxes to fund K-12 education spending, especially in rural school districts.
Fair Nebraska proposes removing the burden of education costs of ag land completely, that currently amounts to about $945 million.
They’d have to make several increases in sales taxes to make up for what would be lost in property taxes.
Again, something the Governor said he was unwilling to do.
Senator Lou Ann Linehan, chairman of the revenue committee said she couldn’t get completely behind the plan, but sympathizes with the farmer’s plight.
“The burden of paying for education is falling on less than the majority of the population of our districts,” Linehan said. “But how to address it is difficult.”
No other legislators are planning on proposing Fair Nebraska’s plan, though many other bills supporting changes to the school funding formula and tax system have been proposed.
The governor is proposing a constitutional amendment that would cap the amount of property taxes local governments can levy. He also wants to add more money to the property tax credit relief fund.
He said he’s also proposed several bills in the past that have failed in the legislature.
The challenge, he said, is finding a plan that 33 senators agree on.
Though he, and Linehan, are confident compromises will be made this session.
“Let’s make progress every year, and keep moving forward,” Ricketts said.
