LINCOLN - A proposed plan that would potentially deliver over $1 billion worth of property tax relief to Nebraskans has been launched via a petition drive.
The group Yes to Property Tax Relief has begun the drive to collect enough signatures from across the state to put the measure before voters on the November 2018 ballot. Committee spokesman Trent Fellers says the efforts of state government from Governor Pete Ricketts to state senators have come up short thus far and the time for action is now.
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"The clock is ticking away every day for them to pass meaningful property tax relief in this short session. We're organizing and starting this petition drive so that we can give the voters an opportunity to vote on this if the legislature fails yet again this year to deliver meaningful property tax relief."
While numerous groups have called for property tax relief, their means of enacting sustainable tax cuts have differed. Yes to Property Tax Relief would call for a refundable income tax credit equal to half the property taxes collected by a local school district. One way to fund the billion-dollar plan would be to look at ending certain exemptions through the state's sales tax according to Fellers.
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"We have $4 billion worth of sales tax exemptions and if you take out the $2 billion worth of sales tax exemptions that are agriculture and industrial inputs, that leaves $2 billion to play with. There's more than enough revenue to go around to fund education and fund these other state priorities."
The group has hired Arizona-based Lincoln Strategy Group to manage the petition drive, the same group that managed the drive to successfully place a repeal of Nebraska's repeal of the death penalty in 2016 on the ballot before voters.
While some have countered that the group's plan merely shifts tax burdens onto other Nebraskans, Fellers says the issue of high property taxes affects those in all corners of the state.
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"This is an issue which touches you whether you're in an urban area, a rural area...they're all complaining about high property taxes. Other states surrounding us have figured out how to be more competitive by lowering those property tax rates and it's kind of time that Nebraska does the same thing."
Fellers adds that petition circulators will begin appearing in all 93 counties across Nebraska this week in hopes of collecting the necessary 85,000 signatures before the July 5 deadline.
You can learn more about the petition efforts of Reform For Nebraska's Future at yesforpropertytaxrelief.com
Property Tax Relief Group Set to Launch Statewide Petition Drive
Other states surrounding us have figured out how to be more competitive by lowering those property tax rates and it's kind of time that Nebraska does the same thing.
