Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association

By NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tecumseh's city pool may not open next summer. The town may not be able to hire another police officer and may have to return a grant for work on the city fish pond because there's no money for the local match.

All because the state's tax incentive program is draining local sales tax dollars from Tecumseh's revenue.

So far this year, the town has lost more than $69,000 in local sales tax revenues in refunds to a local company that used the state's major tax incentive program - often called LB775 after the number of the bill creating the program.

The sales tax hit is even more onerous because city leaders did not know it was coming. The details of the state tax incentive program are confidential, so there was no warning from the state nor from the company.

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By Steve Jordon and Paul Hammel
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

Nebraska employers figured that they might pay higher unemployment insurance taxes next year, but now they're getting the specifics: Rates will more than double for most companies.

Although the increases can vary widely among employers, most rates will increase about 165 percent. The average annual payment per employee will increase to $300 from $113, beginning in April.

The State Labor Department mailed notices this week to 47,000 Nebraska employers with the specific payment rates, from zero to a maximum of $780 per employee. The previous maximum amount was $486.

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By Josh Funk The Associated Press
Monday, Dec 07, 2009 - 10:05:57 am CST

LINCOLN �” Nebraska businesses will be hit with a sharp increase in their tax bills next year to replenish the state’s unemployment fund after a year in which payments from the fund more than doubled to $190 million.
 
Nebraska is one of 33 states expected to increase its unemployment tax in 2010 in response to the sharp increase in the number of people claiming jobless aid over the past year. But the tax hike comes at the worst possible time: when a fragile economy recovery is taking shape.

And some Nebraska businesses could be surprised by the increases because this is the first recession since the formula for the state’s employer-funded unemployment fund was revised in 2005. Tax notices will go out to businesses over the next week, but the first payments won’t be due until April 30.

“This is a job killer,” Rick Poore said after seeing an estimate of how much more his screen-printing Design Wear business will have to pay next year.

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Tax Foundation Releases First-Ever Mid-Year Update of Facts & Figures

We have re-released the 2009 version of Facts and Figures, a pocket-sized booklet comparing the 50 states on 37 different measures of taxing and spending, including individual and corporate income tax rates, business tax climates, excise taxes, tax burdens and state spending. The number and significance of state tax changes that have occurred in the first half of 2009 has necessitated the first mid-year update of the booklet in the annual publication's history.

"Many states have started the new fiscal year with tax codes that are vastly different compared to just a few months ago," Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge said. "Accurate and timely information on state fiscal issues is more important now than ever—especially as lawmakers in many states continue to struggle with budget shortfalls. As legislators look to the tax code for solutions, our Facts & Figures handbook provides a yardstick against which they can measure their state's fiscal competitiveness compared to others."

Read the news release or download a PDF of the booklet.