$146,200
When talking about taxes, we often divide Nebraskans into five groups based on income distribution. Statistically, the starting point for the 20% of top earners is about $146,000 in 2024 dollars, with the middle 20% earning between about $56,000 and $94,000.
These are statistical measures not meant to define who is “rich” but to express someone’s ability to pay based on how their income matches up with the rest of the population. For example, modeling of a proposed sales tax increase indicates that the 80% of Nebraskans with annual incomes of $146,000 or less would pay 2 times more as a share of their income as the top 20% of earners.
Read blog post on why income distribution matters
Read commentary in the Washington Post
61%
In a recent poll by Holland Children’s Institute, 61% of Nebraskans said they supported legislation to require Nebraska to accept federal funding to address childhood hunger through the new Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program.
A bill (LB 952) with bipartisan support compelling Nebraska’s participation in Summer EBT has not advanced from the Health and Human Services Committee, and the Omaha World-Herald reported that it may eventually be tied to a proposal (LB 1381) that would place work requirements on participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In hearings next week, OpenSky will share its research and analysis of LB 1381 and several other bills related to fiscal measures, including education funding and tax policy. A breakdown of the week ahead:
- Tuesday: A bill (LB 958) set for a hearing in the Appropriations Committee would provide for annual adjustments to health care provider rates based on increases in the Consumer Price Index
- Wednesday: A bill (LB 1403) set for a hearing in the Revenue Committee would make changes to the Opportunity Scholarships Act that was passed last year and is set to go before voters in November
Number crunching
- 71%: New Data for Progress polling from mid-January includes findings that 71% of U.S. voters support an expanded federal Child Tax Credit while only 9% think taxes on corporations should be decreased. A bipartisan tax bill approved by the U.S. House and up for consideration in the Senate would expand the federal CTC and provide dollar-for-dollar corporate tax breaks.
- 310,000: Expanding the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as proposed in LB 1182 could provide increased spending power to an estimated 310,000 Nebraskans, helping hard-working taxpayers to offset some of the increased sales taxes they could face under the governor’s plan to shift revenue from property taxes.
Talking sales taxes
Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 13 for a noon-hour webinar with a discussion of the ability to pay principle in tax policy, how the sales tax affects people’s budgets and the implications of possibly raising the sales tax in Nebraska.
We’re very pleased that Sen. John Fredrickson, in his first term representing Legislative District 20 in Omaha, will launch the discussion. The tax experts joining us include Richard Auxier, who focuses on state and local tax policy as a senior policy associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, as well as Stacy Watson, a tax and consulting shareholder at Lutz who serves as chair of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce’s Taxation Council.