Can Governor Pillen Lower Nebraska Property Tax?
Governor Pillen and I have something in common. Neither one of us has a clue on how to pass a 40% reduction in property taxes. The Governor said he was planning on calling a special session of the Unicameral after he failed to get his priority legislation passed this year.
I commend him for trying. Others before him have tried and failed as well. Unicameral session after unicameral session, governor after governor have looked for ways to reduce our property taxes with limited success.
Maybe it could have passed in the last session if the Governor actually had a workable plan to make it happen. His initial idea was to raise our sales tax. If he did that it would make Nebraska have the highest sales taxes in the country. That idea was pretty much DOA.
But I’ll admit I don’t have a better idea. And Governor Pillen shouldn’t call a special session unless he has a better idea either.
Yes, our property taxes are high. But overall, our cost of living is low. Recently Forbes magazine picked Omaha as the number one city in America to move to in 2024. They touted our affordability, our low unemployment, relatively low crime rate and other factors to give Omaha a perfect score of 100 out of a possible 100 points.
Durham, North Carolina is about the same size as Lincoln, Nebraska. You would have to make almost $80,000 to live the same lifestyle you could in Lincoln for $75,000. Colorado Springs is about the same size as Omaha, yet you would have to earn 20.6% more in Colorado Springs to be able to afford what you can in our fair city.
Yes, our property taxes are too high. But if Governor Pillen had his way, Nebraskans would stop complaining about property taxes and start complaining about sales taxes.
So, what is the solution? Like I said, I don’t have the answer either. All I know is that there is no easy way to do this, and any possible solution is going to upset someone. We saw it when the Nebraska Broadcasters Association ran ads complaining about a proposal to implement a tax on advertising. Other special interest groups will lobby against taking away their sales tax exemptions on their goods and services as wwell.
Is the answer cutting state services? How about consolidating more of the rural school districts? Make the farmers kids have to drive for an hour or so to get to class each day? While we’re at it how about consolidating rural counties? Get rid of some county seats and their employees? Maybe we can cut back on the upkeep of rural roads that have limited traffic.
Any of those might be good solutions but they are definitely not workable solutions. None of those ideas will get the approval of the outstate Senators the Governor needs to get his property tax cut legislation passed.
Yes, Governor Pillen is threatening to call a special session this summer to try to get his proposal passed. But if he does, I certainly hope he has worked behind the scenes to put together a plan that can actually get passed and doesn’t call a special session just to waste the Senators time and taxpayers’ money.
And while we’re talking about special sessions, I certainly hope he doesn’t get the votes to make Nebraska a winner take all state when it comes to the electoral college. As I pointed out in a previous column, making Nebraska relevant during Presidential elections benefits the state. Passing winner takes all will cost us in lost revenue from the political campaigns and make us less important in national politics. More states should be like us. We shouldn’t be like them.
But getting back to the property tax problem. There should only be a special session if there is something new and workable that can be passed. Otherwise, the Governor should lick his wounds and go back to the drawing board and try again next session.
I complain about property taxes as much as the next guy. But overall Nebraska is a pretty affordable place to live. And whatever they do to lower property taxes will be at the expense of somebody else.
How will our taxes be lowered? I haven’t got a clue.
Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.
Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.
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