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| New Releases |
| New Taxpayer Coalition Opposes Initiative 423 Spending Lid Lincoln – Agriculture and business organizations have formed a new coalition to oppose Initiative 423 which would put state spending lids in the Nebraska Constitution. Members of "Nebraska Taxpayers Against 423" represent taxpayer groups – agriculture, business interests and others who believe the proposed constitutional amendment would be poor public policy. Barry Kennedy of Lincoln, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and one of the coalition's three co-chairs, said "Taxpayers and small businesses represented in this statewide coalition strongly believe in spending restraint – just as much as those proposing the constitutional spending lid. But controls on spending should be implemented with some foresight, rather than by locking them into the Nebraska Constitution. The proposed amendment could have the courts deciding our state's tax policy while at the same time jeopardizing our economy and our system of government by local control." "We recognize that state and local government spending cannot continue at its current pace. The spending lid proponents have identified a problem that needs to be addressed, but their solution is incorrect because it arbitrarily limits spending but does nothing to limit or lower taxes." "In addition, passage of this proposal would likely shift tax dollars intended for highways to other budget items, which would hurt the Nebraska economy in the long run." Coalition members agree that the likely result of Initiative 423 is increased property taxes, said Rob Robertson of Roca, also a coalition co-chair. Robertson is vice president of governmental relations for Nebraska Farm Bureau, the state's largest agricultural organization. "Passage of this proposal will likely result in a decrease in state aid to schools and other local governments, which will then transfer the funding burden to the local level -- where property tax increases would inevitably result," Robertson said. Gene Ward of Lincoln, President of the Nebraska Realtors® Association and the third co-chair of the group, said his organization joined the opposition to 423 because of concern for homeowners and the recruitment of new businesses to the state. "Property taxes in Nebraska are high enough already. They can be an obstacle to home ownership and can impact how much young families can afford. We work with companies considering locating in Nebraska. Our level of property taxes can be a deal-breaker to new jobs and new opportunities," Ward said. "Although our association is very concerned about the rate of state spending increases, shifting the burden to homeowners and property owners at the local level -- in the forms of new fees and taxes -- is not the right solution." The coalition will work to defeat the proposed state spending lid amendment through a statewide campaign that educates taxpayers about the potential that property taxes will increase under the measure and about the problems with putting the spending lid in the constitution, according to the co-chairs. "Nebraska Taxpayers Against 423 are committed to efforts to address the growth of state spending but Initiative 423 is the wrong approach to a problem that certainly needs to be addressed," Kennedy said. Member organizations of the Nebraska Taxpayers Against 423 coalition are Contributions are being accepted by the coalition and checks can be made out to the "Nebraska Taxpayers Against 423" and mailed to Ron Sedlacek, affiliated with Blackwell Sanders Peper and Martin, who is treasurer of the coalition at P.O. Box 95128, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. |
