A new report from Nebraska’s Open Sky Policy Institute says counties would have to raise property taxes an average of seven percent if the inheritance tax ends.
Douglas County officials want state lawmakers to reject Governor Dave Heineman’s call to cut the inheritance tax. County Commissioners met Friday with State Senators from Douglas County.
Heineman argues that the tax is preventing additional growth in Nebraska. Douglas County gets an average of $9 million per year in revenue from the inheritance tax. Board Chairman Marc Kraft says a property tax increase would be necessary to make up for the lost revenue. He says the county would also have to cut services.
State Senator Jeremy Nordquist says he’ll oppose efforts in the Unicameral to end the inheritance tax. Nordquist says he wants the inheritance tax discussion to be part of a larger one about the shift of the tax burden from the state to the local level.
Last year, Douglas County received $12 million in inheritance tax revenue.