Lawmakers in GOP-led Nebraska advance bill to raise sales tax

abcnews.go.com:

Nebraska lawmakers have advanced a bill that would raise the state’s sales tax by 1 cent to 6.5% on every taxable dollar spent

LINCOLN, Neb. — With no votes to spare, Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill that would raise the state’s sales tax by 1 cent to 6.5% on every taxable dollar spent — which would make it among the highest in the country.

The bill is key to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to slash soaring property taxes, which reached a high of $5.3 billion in 2023 as housing prices have soared in recent years. Because local assessors are required to assess residential property at around 100% of market value, some people — particularly the elderly who are on fixed incomes — are being priced out homes they’ve owned for years because they can’t afford the tax bill, Pillen and others have said.

The bill garnered the 33 votes needed Tuesday to end a filibuster and advance to the second of three rounds of debate in Nebraska’s unique one-chamber legislature. In addition to raising the state's current 5.5% sales tax and expanding it to include more services — such as digital advertising costs — it would add new taxes to candy and soda pop and would tax hemp and CBD products at 100%.

California currently has the highest state sales tax in the nation, at 7.25%. If the Nebraska bill passes as is, it would match the 6.5% state sales taxes of Arkansas, Kansas and Washington, which all currently tie for 9th highest in the nation.

Because most cities and counties in Nebraska have an additional local sales tax from 1/2-cent to 2 cents on the dollar, the legislation advanced Tuesday would take the total sales tax in some Nebraska cities to 8.5%.

But the bill would also cut sales tax currently added to utility bills — a proposal