Nebraska

Principles of good tax policy • Nebraska Examiner

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2024

Principles of good tax policy • Nebraska Examiner

Gov. Jim Pillen is embarking on a policy campaign to sell a new plan meant to lower property taxes. He’s hitting the road making his pitch to voters and state senators in communities around the state.

If you have planned a summer vacation, you know that a great trip does not happen on its own — it takes vision, planning and strong execution. The same is true for state tax policy. Before embarking on a restructuring of Nebraska’s tax system, it’s important to set goals and map out the path to our ideal destination.

We can all agree we want to arrive at a destination where Nebraska has a tax system that allows individuals and businesses to thrive, for our state to compete with our peers, and a system that is fair and equitable for all. How we get there, and what principles we follow, are the primary questions at hand. Achieving meaningful tax reform requires more than a big goal; it must be built upon sound tax policies that will endure for generations to come.

Prior to 2023, Nebraska consistently ranked high among peer states for income tax rates and property tax burdens. Unfortunately, budgets were tight during that time, which limited fiscally responsible means for reducing these taxes. Regardless, our state leaders knew Nebraska had to perform better if it was to successfully compete with peer states for business and job growth and personal prosperity.

Finally, in 2023, Nebraska had its shot. Due to a revenue surplus, in part because ofthe COVID crisis, Nebraska was able to slash its income tax rates to 3.99% over five years and also eliminate community colleges’ ability to levy property tax. These changes significantly enhanced our state’s tax code; however, they did not happen overnight, and they did not happen by accident. Despite this reform, Nebraska still has the seventh highest property tax rate in the country. As we look forward now, we need to consider what goes into good tax policy, and how Nebraska can ensure we get the best outcome for our state.

Budgetary restraint

Foundational to any good tax policy is budgetary restraint. Although Nebraska was able to accomplish significant reforms due to excess revenue, only budgetary restraint can provide sustainable tax relief. That is, future tax reforms should not rely on a tax shift, but instead focus on capping local spending growth and promoting budget restraint.

Simplicity

Good tax policy is also rooted in simplicity. A tax code that is easy to understand and comply with reduces administrative costs and economic distortions. Nebraska’s recent reforms aimed to simplify the tax code by reducing the number of brackets and lowering rates. Eliminating the community college property tax simplified the overall property tax system. Future reforms should continue this trend towards simplicity, making the tax system as straightforward as possible while ensuring that elected officials are accountable to the taxpayer.

Transparency

Transparency is another critical principle of foundational tax reform. A transparent tax system ensures that taxpayers understand how their money is being used and can hold government officials accountable. Transparency also means keeping accountability at the level of government most accessible to the taxpayer. This means local decisions should stay in the hands of local elected officials, not bureaucrats in Lincoln. Nebraska should continue to prioritize transparency, building trust with taxpayers and ensuring that public funds are managed responsibly.

Economic growth

Lastly, economic growth should be a guiding objective. Tax policies that promote investment, job creation and economic expansion benefit all Nebraskans. By keeping tax rates competitive and reducing burdensome regulations, Nebraska can attract new businesses and retain existing ones, driving economic prosperity. Legislators should reject ideas that raise taxes on business inputs and instead focus on policies that spur economic growth throughout our state.

The principles of budgetary restraint, simplicity, transparency and economic growth form the bedrock of sound tax policy. As Nebraska looks to further improve its tax system, these principles will guide us toward a fairer, more prosperous future for all. In the next part of this series, we will explore specific policy solutions to achieve property tax reform, building on this strong and principled foundation.

In conclusion, it is wise to have a clear understanding of the objective before embarking on the journey. For Nebraska, the objective should be statewide population and job growth, business creation and personal prosperity, partnered with state and local spending controls and fiscal policies that help sustain Nebraska’s performance, even through economic turbulence.

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Nebraska

Northwestern College quarterback Jalyn Gramstad transferring to Nebraska

Published

1 hour ago

June 22, 2024

Press Room

Northwestern College quarterback Jalyn Gramstad transferring to Nebraska

ORANGE CITY, IA (Dakota News Now) – One of the top NAIA college football players in the country will take his shot at playing in one of the top FBC conferences in the country this upcoming season.

West Lyon alum and Northwestern College quarterback Jalyn Gramstad is transferring to the University of Nebraska to use his final season of eligibility.

The 2023 NAIA Player of the year led the Red Raiders to the national title game in 2022 and 23, winning the championship in 2022. He leaves with more than 1800 yards rushing, 6200 yards passing and 91 total touchdowns.

He’ll serve as a backup for the Huskers while also getting starting a coaching career.

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Nebraska

Better Know a B1G: Adv. Stat Comparison Nebraska Cornhuskers

Published

9 hours ago

June 21, 2024

Press Room

Better Know a B1G: Adv. Stat Comparison Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is the next in the series comparing some statistical rankings between BigTen opponents and UW. This week’s comparison is with the Nebraska Cornhuskers-a team that UW has had a history with. You can find the comparisons with Indiana here, Illinois here, Iowa here, Maryland here, Michigan here, Michigan State here, and Minnesota here.

Composite Ranking Comparison

We again start by looking at the final rankings in the Massey Composite (https://masseyratings.com/ranks) over the last 9 years between the teams.

For decades, Nebraska had one of the best football teams in the country. But as the graph about shows, they have not had much success recently. Only twice have they finished in the top 50-and one of those was when they finished #50.

SRS

Here is the picture in the Simple Rating System, SRS, (https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2023-ratings.html).

In this view, Nebraska finished slightly ahead of UW (0.14 vs 0.11) in 2020. Otherwise you see that UW has been consistently much better than Nebraska, even in 2016 which was when Nebraska had its last winning season (finishing 9-4) in Mike Riley’s (remember him? He previously coached at Oregon State) second season. I wonder if Cornhusker fans miss the days of Bo Pelini.

F+

Here’s a look at the F+ ratings for both teams. As a reminder, F+ is a combination of two advanced stats: FEI and SP+. This should be representative of most of the advanced stats.

This comparison looks similar to the Composite ranking. The question for Nebraska is whether the improvement in 2023 can continue in Matt Rhule’s second season.

If you didn’t follow Nebraska closely last season, you might not realize that they were similar to Iowa in that they had a terrible offense (#119) and a very good defense (#8).

Talent Comparison

Here is the talent comparison using the average rating by 247Sports for all of the scholarship players. (https://247sports.com/Season/2023-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/)

Nebraska has improved their talent consistently over the years, and now they surpass UW in that area. But, as we know from above, that improvement in talent hasn’t led to a significant improvement in performance on the field-at least not yet. And that improvement in talent for Nebraska looks to continue since they added a 5-star recruit (QB Dylan Raiola) and seven 4-star recruits in the 2024 class.

Final Thoughts

Many people are projecting that 2024 is when Nebraska finally turns the corner with their football program. Some early pre-season rankings even have Nebraska in their top-25. That would be a huge improvement from their #71 finish last season. But, if their defense stays at a similar level and Dylan Raiola can get the offense to be half-way decent, they have a chance to make a big jump.

UW will not face Nebraska until 2026 when UW travels to Lincoln; Nebraska comes to Husky Stadium the following season. If Matt Rhule can get Nebraska back as a contender in the BigTen by then, and Jedd Fisch gets UW back too, it could be a couple of very good games between the programs-reminiscent of games of the past. Of course, those are a couple of big “ifs”.

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Nebraska

Nebraska DHHS warns residents about dangerous heat in the coming weeks

Published

16 hours ago

June 21, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska DHHS warns residents about dangerous heat in the coming weeks

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is asking the public to prepare for dangerous heat over the summer.

In a press release issued Friday morning, DHHS said that temperatures in Nebraska can get up into the 100s from June until even September.

The press release provided tips for staying safe and cool like staying inside, wearing light and loose fitting clothes, limit outdoor activities, and hydrate if you do have to go outside.

The release also had warnings, like not to leave children or pets inside the car during the heat, and to make sure that pets were hydrated during hot days as well.

Anyone who has to work outside should use the buddy system where you check on a co-worker and a co-worker checks on you in order to make sure that everyone is safe.

The release also had important information on terms that meteorologists might use during heat, and what they mean.

Heat Index: is a measure of how hot it feels when relative humidity is added to the air temperature.
Excessive Heat Outlooks: Issued when the potential exists for an excessive heat event in the next 3-7 days.
Excessive Heat Watches: Issued when conditions are favorable for excessive heat in the next 24 to 72 hours.
Excessive Heat Warning/Advisories: Issued when excessive heat is expected in the next 24 hours.

To help the public identify if temperatures over seven days could harm human health, the National Weather Services recently released the ‘HeatRisk Dashboard’ available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heatrisk/.

You can learn more about extreme heat and how to protect yourself and your loved ones this summer at https://www.cdc.gov/extreme-heat/about/index.html.

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