Dozens testify on bill that would replace all Nebraska taxes with sales tax

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Dozens of people ready to testify on Legislative Bill 79 filed into the hearing room Friday to give testimony on an unprecedented bill.

There isn’t one state where homeowners don’t pay property taxes.

But the bill, called the EPIC consumption tax, would eradicate property taxes, income taxes and corporate taxes in Nebraska.

Under the proposed system, Nebraskans would pay only one tax to the state government: a sales tax of 7½% on all new goods and services.

Sen. Steve Erdman proposed the bill and said it would help ease the burden of property taxes on homeowners.

“People have lost their homes due to paying an exorbitant amount of never-ending taxes,” he said. “Legislative Bill 79 seeks to end that.”

The bill would also end the taxation of used goods, something Allie French of Nebraskans Against Government Overreach supports.

She said the state shouldn’t be able to tax the same item more than once.

“For example, once you’ve bought your car, to be taxed on that car over and over again, is it ever really yours?” she said.

Groceries, used cars and previously owned homes would not be taxed.

Some in opposition of the bill shared concerns that people would sell new items and claim that they’re used, causing a problem for the state Revenue Department.

Loy Todd, president of the Nebraska New Car and Truck Dealers Association, said LB 79 would hurt new car dealerships immensely.

“Why would you buy a new car and pay 7½%, plus whatever the local taxes might be on that, when you can buy a used car and pay nothing?” he asked. “And so that’s what’s going to happen. … It’s going to be extreme.”