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Nebraska governor wants to repeal “death tax”
After an unsuccessful attempt to repeal the so-called death tax during the last legislative session, Governor Heineman says he'll try again.
Nebraska is one of eight states that currently has an inheritance tax, which provides millions of dollars to the state's 93 counties. The Adams County Board of Supervisors says the repeal would be costly. "There isn't a county in Nebraska that wants to do away with this," said Eldon Orthmann, Adams County Supervisor. When Adams County Board of Supervisors approved their budget, they borrowed $1million from their $2 million inheritance tax fund. The money was put into the general fund to cover various projects. Without the tax, residents would have to pay. "Adams County saved about 2 cents on the levy property tax," said Orthmann. Eldon Orthmann said an increase in property taxes would need to be imposed if the tax wasn't there. "If affects such few people where the property tax affects everybody, it affects the renters," said Orthmann. But Governor Dave Heineman says by eliminating the tax, less people will leave the state. "We have Nebraskans that are leaving the state because of the inheritance tax," said Governor Dave Heineman. And while the governor understands the challenges facing counties, he says the state needs to continue to work with them to make things better. "In order to be competitive, to compete with jobs in the future, to keep people in Nebraska we need to get rid of this inheritance tax," said Heineman. The tax is paid to counties by those who inherit property, cash, or other assets from deceased relatives. "We shouldn't tax people upon death and this is one part of it," said Heineman. While the governor says the eliminations will make Nebraska more competitive for jobs, counties say it's something they just can't lose. "There's certain things that are needed, roads, courts, all that and it takes money to run that," said Orthmann. The governor says Douglas County's use of $5 million of their revenue tax for a University of Nebraska Medical Center did not influence his decision to repeal the tax. Lawmakers will take up the repeal when the next legislative session begins in January. |
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