Aaron Sanderford
OMAHA — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s proposal to shift more local property tax burdens onto the state sales tax appears to have landed like a thud with likely voters.
A conservative pollster’s survey this week of more than 800 likely voters indicated seven out of 10, or 70%-19%, opposed increasing the sales tax to provide property tax relief.
More than half of the Nebraskans interviewed — 60%-14% — told the pollster they would prefer hard caps on local spending increases over increasing the sales tax to offset property taxes.
Pillen’s proposal to cut $2 billion in property taxes, which he started unveiling last month, would add up to 2 cents to the sales tax. It also would eliminate an unknown number of sales tax exemptions and cap spending by local governments.
Immediate backlash
He faced immediate backlash from a number of state senators, conservative and liberal think tanks and consumer advocates who questioned the impact of a higher sales tax on working Nebraskans.
State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar on Thursday criticized the proposal. “It simply doesn’t make sense to raise taxes to cut taxes,” she said.
“Nebraskans are already some of the most overtaxed people in the country, all to fund the Nebraska government’s bloated spending habits,” Slama said.
The governor said this week he is working with state lawmakers to find a way to get to the same goal and still aims to cut the number of sales tax exemptions, often discussed as “broadening the base.”
State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston has described Pillen’s sales tax proposal as a starting point.
AFP-Nebraska paid for poll
Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska paid for the poll, which was conducted by Battleground Connect. Pete Ricketts, a U.S. senator and former governor, founded and helped fund AFP-Nebraska. However, people close to Ricketts say he stopped donating to the group when he became governor.
Ricketts was one of Pillen’s top funders and surrogates during the 2022 GOP primary election for governor, and some later criticized Pillen for appointing Ricketts to the Senate soon after taking office last year.
The fact that AFP-Nebraska paid for this poll signals a possible disconnect between Ricketts and Pillen on tax policy. Political observers said it is unlikely AFP-Nebraska would fund a poll on this issue without buy-in from its top donors.
Ricketts on Thursday said that as governor, he worked with state senators to provide more than $10 billion in property tax relief directly to taxpayers, including through a rebate program.
“Raising taxes is not the answer to more property tax relief, and a tax shift is not tax relief,” he said in a statement. “Nebraskans deserve real reform that controls spending and reduces our tax burden across the board.”
Pillen’s response
Pillen spokeswoman Laura Strimple criticized the poll as flawed, saying it was “leading and not fully representative of Nebraskans’ views on property tax relief.” She said the governor knows Nebraskans want lower property taxes.
“Governor Pillen is intent on providing significant and sustainable property tax reform and has boldly set forth the goal of achieving a 40% reduction this year,” she said in a statement. “The Governor is partnering with senators in the legislature to help solve this critical issue and is positive that consensus can be reached on a plan that will make Nebraska competitive with other states.”
The poll was conducted this week by both cell phone and landline phones. Its margin of error was plus or minus 3.7%.
John Gage, director of AFP-Nebraska, said people “want real and direct tax relief.” He suggested state lawmakers “aggressively limit local property taxing authority and spending.”
“Our survey shows Nebraskans want long-term and permanent tax relief, not quick fixes,” he said.
AFP-Nebraska advocates for conservative causes and is part of a national network of dark money groups funded by Kansas industrialist Charles Koch and his late brother, David.
Ricketts, in recent years, has appeared on the group’s panels and events and in a video interview posted on its Facebook page.