LINCOLN- During the 2024 legislative session, Gov. Pillen says he plans to pitch a "transformational" proposal to reduce the amount of property taxes paid by capping local government spending and funding services more through sales tax. He said he wants to create lasting, structural tax changes in the state.

The governor also expressed interest in working to attract and retain a qualified workforce in Nebraska, a priority he said will be outlined in his annual State of the State address later this month. According to Pillen, such an endeavor would require improving access to quality child care in the state. Under Pillen's property tax proposal, the state would set "hard caps" on spending growth by cities and counties, and perhaps retain last year's "soft caps" on K-12 school districts.

Pillen's goal is to trim $2 billion of the $5 billion Nebraskans pay yearly in local property taxes. According to the governor, the only way to reach that reduction would be if every level of government takes a deeper look at its spending. Pillen also indicated that he's preparing a proposal to increase the state's sales tax by 2 cents, from 5.5 cents to 7.5 cents. Revenue from this 36% hike in sales tax, according to the governor, would be utilized to help lower local property taxes.

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