By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers approved a nearly $900 million income and property tax cut package on Thursday and sent it to Gov. Pete Ricketts, who’s expected to sign it.
The measure that won final approval in the Legislature would drop the top individual and corporate income tax rates to 5.84% by 2027. The top individual rate is currently 6.84% and the top corporate rate is 7.5%.
It also would provide a refundable tax credit to reimburse property owners for some of the taxes they pay to local community colleges, and speed up the implementation of a law that will phase out Nebraska’s tax on Social Security income.
The measure passed after several setbacks in the Legislature and concerns from some senators about the package’s long-term impact on the budget.
The corporate income tax cut was especially contentious, with supporters portraying it as necessary to attract businesses and opponents arguing that it would mostly benefit out-of-state corporations that would have done business in Nebraska regardless. Critics also noted that high-income-earners will get far bigger benefits from the individual income tax cut.