Free the Tax Slaves

Special Session for Tax Reform is expected to begin next week, Thursday, July 25th.

We can expect that proposed legislation will be dropped in the first day and a public hearing notice of only 24hrs is required during a special session. This means we can anticipate the public hearing to take place some time on Friday. We would presume we’ll know one way or another by midday Thursday. ( KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR UPDATES )

The Call to Action

1. In the time leading up to the special session please reach out via Email/Call the members of the Revenue Committee!

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, Chair – llinehan@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Brad Von Gillern, Vice Chair – bvongillern@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Joni Albrecht – jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Eliot Bostar – ebostar@leg.ne.gov
Sen. George Dungan – gdungan@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Kathleen Kauth – kkauth@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Fred Meyer – fmeyer@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Dave Murman – dmurman@leg.ne.gov

2. Email/Call your district State Senator

To Find Your Senator – https://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_find.php

3. Email/Call Governor Pillen

Email Link: https://governor.nebraska.gov/contact-form
Phone: 402-471-2244

Talking Points:

NAGO has been a steadfast supporter of EPIC Option.

1. EPIC Option is the ONLY plan that puts the needs of the people above those of the Government.
2. EPIC Option provides for a constitutional form of taxation whereby the people get to determine how much they participate and forces the government to operate within the confines of a consumption based revenue.
3. EPIC Option does NOT eliminate local control, it does however, eliminate the ability for government to raise taxes and take more and more from the people. REMINDER: the individual is the MOST local control, that would be YOU.
4. EPIC Option will bring an increase in tax revenue by greatly increasing the tax pool and eliminating many of the current tax exemptions. (Any of our representatives that claim to be for the people and not special interest groups should be in full support of this.)
5. EPIC Option will FORCE the government to prioritize needs and cut spending (state, county, schools, city, etc.)
6. Much of the opposition will make the claim that a consumption tax would reach upwards of 22%. While this is wildly inaccurate, rather than arguing the numbers, remind our representatives that they absolutely CAN impart caps that would eliminate any risk of a consumption tax rising to that extent. NAGO would suggest a statewide cap at 7.5% and a local county/ city tax of 3%. EPIC plans have suggested that statewide consumption tax could be reduced to 5.5% after only a couple years due to the elimination of tax exemptions and major increase in the tax pool.
7. Property and Income taxes fly in the face of the freedom intended by our founding fathers. Do you own your own home? Is your labor your own? Or, are you a slave to our government? This should be an easy concept to grasp, ingrained in each and every one of our patriotic hearts.

We ask our members and followers to contact our representatives encouraging their support for EPIC Option. The Revenue Committee will need to vote the EPIC Option legislation out of committee!

NAGO also recognizes there is a lot of push back from many of the most influential special interests groups and thereby many of our most influential representatives have fallen in line.

The current plan being proposed by our governor is what some are referring to as the EPIC Lite plan. A shift in property taxes, an increase in “sin taxes”, and the potential elimination of certain tax exemptions. Unfortunately, we have yet to see anything in writing, so the details and exact plan are unknown and unverifiable.

There is a link being shared by the governor and others that is claimed to show the potential reduction in property taxes under the plan Pillen is proposing:

Use this link to see how much the Governor’s “Nebraska Plan” will save you on property taxes this year.  (Which you begin paying next year.)  It should be around $2,000. https://bit.ly/3VViRyl

Following along in various conversations, some showed as low as an $800 reduction, with many in the $1200 range, and a few coming in closer to $1800 – many of whom lived in Lancaster County.

Many questions remain with what little information can be gathered on this proposal.

Final Conclusion

Our hope is that through a collective effort we can push EPIC Option to the forefront. That being said, NAGO works hard to be realistic and provide a good understanding of the workings of the Legislature. With as much push back as there has been for EPIC, even though it’s the RIGHT thing to do, the reality is Nebraskans NEED tax relief NOW and our senators have an obligation to tell us what they are FOR and stop telling us what they’re against. We need a plan that moves us towards a legitimate solution.

So, at the end of the day, this special session is about requiring accountability from our representatives. Who is going to cave to the special interests groups? And, who is going to go to work for the people?