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The chairman of the Otoe County Board of Commissioners said Tuesday that Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to eliminate the inheritance tax would dramatically impact county services.
“This is a serious issue for county government and we want people to understand there could be dramatic changes in county government and how it does its job,” Tim Nelsen said.
Nelsen said the $700,000 collected by Otoe County last year represents up to 15 percent of the county's income.
If you exclude expenditures that are state mandated and expenditures that are paid for by outside sources, Nelsen said, there remains a 30 percent section of the budget for cuts.
“If you pull 15 percent out of our budget, then there would be a 50 percent decrease in all functions not statutorily required,” he said.
Gov. Heineman mentioned a desire to eliminate the tax in his State of the State speech,where he called for a tax cut of $326 million over three years. He also proposes lowering individual income tax rates and expanding brackets.
The elimination of the inheritance tax would come in the first year under LB970, which is scheduled before the state Legislature's Revenue Committee on Thursday.
The inheritance tax raises $42 million annual for Nebraska counties, including $6.8 million for Lancaster County and $8 million for Douglas County.
Otoe County collected about $700,000 last year, but County Clerk Janene Bennett said over the past five years the county has averaged about $500,000 per year.
Commissioner Carol Crook said the snow storms two winters ago point to the importance of the inheritance tax because the county was able to dip into the fund to pay for bulldozers to bust through drifts and open roads.
“We were able to get farmers to their cattle, to get school buses through and to get people to where they work in Omaha and Lincoln. We were able to put bulldozers to work beyond the general resources of our county,” she said.
Nelsen said snow removal could be an area impacted by the lost revenue.
He said the county has a goal of opening roads within 24 hours of a snow event, but the the county might need to extend that goal to 36 or 72 hours.
Cass County Commissioner Ron Nolte said he is definitely against the proposal.
“I'm a landowner and a five-generation landowner, so as an individual I understand opposition to the inheritance tax, but the county governments rely heavily on it,” he said.
Nolte said Cass County used the tax to rejuvenate its courthouse and finish work on Church Road.
He said it provides a necessary cash reserve for many counties and often supports services, such as law enforcement, jails and road work.
The chairman of the Otoe County Board of Commissioners said Tuesday that Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to eliminate the inheritance tax would dramatically impact county services.
“This is a serious issue for county government and we want people to understand there could be dramatic changes in county government and how it does its job,” Tim Nelsen said.
Nelsen said the $700,000 collected by Otoe County last year represents up to 15 percent of the county's income.
If you exclude expenditures that are state mandated and expenditures that are paid for by outside sources, Nelsen said, there remains a 30 percent section of the budget for cuts.
“If you pull 15 percent out of our budget, then there would be a 50 percent decrease in all functions not statutorily required,” he said.
Gov. Heineman mentioned a desire to eliminate the tax in his State of the State speech,where he called for a tax cut of $326 million over three years. He also proposes lowering individual income tax rates and expanding brackets.
The elimination of the inheritance tax would come in the first year under LB970, which is scheduled before the state Legislature's Revenue Committee on Thursday.
The inheritance tax raises $42 million annual for Nebraska counties, including $6.8 million for Lancaster County and $8 million for Douglas County.
Otoe County collected about $700,000 last year, but County Clerk Janene Bennett said over the past five years the county has averaged about $500,000 per year.
Commissioner Carol Crook said the snow storms two winters ago point to the importance of the inheritance tax because the county was able to dip into the fund to pay for bulldozers to bust through drifts and open roads.
“We were able to get farmers to their cattle, to get school buses through and to get people to where they work in Omaha and Lincoln. We were able to put bulldozers to work beyond the general resources of our county,” she said.
Nelsen said snow removal could be an area impacted by the lost revenue.
He said the county has a goal of opening roads within 24 hours of a snow event, but the the county might need to extend that goal to 36 or 72 hours.
Cass County Commissioner Ron Nolte said he is definitely against the proposal.
“I'm a landowner and a five-generation landowner, so as an individual I understand opposition to the inheritance tax, but the county governments rely heavily on it,” he said.
Nolte said Cass County used the tax to rejuvenate its courthouse and finish work on Church Road.
He said it provides a necessary cash reserve for many counties and often supports services, such as law enforcement, jails and road work.
