Dear Fellow Nebraskans:
In my State of the State address to the Legislature this week, I was pleased to report that Nebraska is steadily and consistently moving forward. I outlined several proposals to advance economic vitality throughout Nebraska.
This year, I focused on proposals that present opportunities to reshape Nebraska by expanding property tax relief, providing new tools to encourage the creation of high-paying jobs and maintaining a strong Cash Reserve Fund.
Nebraska is making progress in creating new jobs for our young people and expanding middle class job opportunities, but we have more work to do.
While we have made progress in lowering taxes in previous legislative sessions, taxes are still too high. Tax relief must continue to be a priority for our state and that is why I have asked the Legislature to provide additional property tax relief during this year’s legislative session.
Our state economy continues to grow and I’ve proposed we return the additional revenue state coffers are expected to take in this year to Nebraska taxpayers through a property tax credit. This additional money should be returned to the citizens of our state in the form of tax relief, not additional spending.
The proposal is very simple and straightforward. It expands on the tax relief package passed during last year’s legislative session by directing an additional $75 million to property tax reductions for our residents. This new funding would be added to the $115 million already set aside for property tax relief during the next fiscal year, bringing the state’s investment to $190 million and providing an estimated $151 property tax relief per $100,000 of assessed value.
In addition to expanding tax relief for residents, I’ve proposed expanding our business recruitment efforts by offering tax credits for businesses that create new, high-paying jobs in Nebraska. It’s called the Nebraska Super Advantage and it would encourage companies to create jobs paying 200 percent of a county’s average wage or 150 percent of the state average wage, whichever is highest. To qualify, businesses would have to create a minimum of 75 new high-paying jobs.
This year’s budget also provides funding for strategic investments in our state. Recommendations include providing $10 million to begin developing a new student information system that will be shared by the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska State College System.
I’ve also asked state senators to approve an additional $15 million for roads funding. This one-time expenditure would help off-set a possible shortfall in federal funding for Nebraska roads projects in the year ahead.
Finally, working with the Legislature we can maintain a prudent Cash Reserve Fund. This is necessary to ensure the progress we’ve made when it comes to sustaining our state economy and lowering the tax burden, even in the face of a potential economic downturn.
These priorities are key to strengthening Nebraska’s competiveness in the year ahead. I look forward to working with the Legislature to accomplish these goals.
