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Revenue Committee hears from Gov. Pillen, Nebraska Farm Bureau on property tax relief bill

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s property tax reform bill continues to come under fire.  The Governor addressed the state’s Revenue Committee Tuesday during a special legislative session that began last week.  

“This plan is not a tax increase. This is a tax decrease,” he says.

But Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue argues the governor’s plan would establish a 2% tax on machinery and equipment used in agricultural manufacturing.

“It is commonly known that taxing inputs into production makes products more expensive for both the producer and the end consumer, due to compounding of taxes, commonly referred to as tax pyramiding,” he says. “This approach is widely criticized by tax experts across the country as detrimental to economic growth.”

The governor defended the bill, saying it would reduce the total number of taxes collected by just under $1 billion.

“The state will repurpose existing property tax programs to provide more direct and impactful relief to all home and property owners,” he says. “This bill will eliminate over 100 sales tax exemptions on the books, helping expand the tax base.”

Since the special session began last Thursday, 81 bills have been filed, with hearings scheduled to continue the rest of this week. McHargue says the group is open to conversations on reducing property taxes but says it’s crucial no harm is done to agriculture, the largest driver of the state’s economy.