LINCOLN- A group of Nebraska organizations publicly launched its effort to oppose the initiative petition seeking to replace all state taxes with a consumption tax. They called the EPIC Option Consumption Tax initiative “flawed,” a “devastating” elimination of local government control, and a proposal based on inaccurate estimates of its ability to replace all sales, income and property taxes.
A new analysis of the EPIC tax, released Thursday morning by the business-oriented Tax Foundation, reported that a consumption tax rate of 21.6% percent would be required to totally replace other state taxes — much higher than the 7.5% stated by EPIC backers. That would dramatically harm the state’s economy, the EPIC opponents said. The group was formed to combat EPIC misinformation.
State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, a leading proponent of the EPIC tax, said he wasn’t surprised by the opposition. He said it’s been those organizations that have been spreading misinformation. Erdman maintained that the new group is being financed by former Gov. and now U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts “and his people.”
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