The Nebraska Farm Bureau is backing four pieces of property tax relief legislation introduced this week in the Unicameral. State Senator Dan Watermeier of Syracuse has put in LB 178 and LB 364 that he says prioritizes the need for property tax relief by dropping the ag valuation and putting more money into the state’s property tax credit fund.
State Senator Lydia Brasch of Bancroft has introduced LB 350 and LB 351. She says those measures drop the ag valuation from 75 to 65 percent and return 20 percent of the state income tax back to local school districts.
Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson says agriculture’s share of property taxes have gone up 162 percent over the past ten years while residential property taxes have only increased 40 percent over that same time period. He says Nebraska has the third highest property taxes in the country outpaced by California and Texas.