Letter to the Editor:

Yes, Nebraska’s current tax system is broken beyond repair according to Mark Bonkiewicz, one of three EPIC Option spokespersons. Mark has been presenter at several Town Halls in Sidney, and most recently presented on February 26th in Gurley, and February 27th in Oshkosh and Brule. The number of Nebraska property owners who are disgusted with our current property – income – inheritance tax burden in our state continues to increase on a weekly basis.

For years, Nebraska legislators have promised to reduce the property tax burden yet have failed to bring actual hard dollar relief. In 2023, the legislature eliminated the community college taxing authority and replaced those budget dollars from the general fund. That was calculated to bring a 6% reduction in property taxes, but property evaluations went up between 15% and 148% around the state – with little or no mill levy decrease. The Legislators’ work was simply a small decrease in a big tax increase!

A team of EPIC Option volunteer circulators are currently gathering voter signatures on two initiative petitions that would allow voters to change the tax structure in our Nebraska Constitution. The first petition would eliminate 5 Nebraska taxes: property taxes, individual income tax, inheritance tax, corporate income tax, and the 5.5% Nebraska state sales tax. Those would be replaced by a 7.5% consumption tax on new retail products and services. All state and local government budgets and public school budgets would be fully funded. The second petition would exempt groceries from the consumption tax.

The handouts that Bonkiewicz provided to attendees included a slide deck showing that three major groups of citizens are leaving our state: graduates, retirees, and farmers or ranchers who are forced to sell when they fall behind in property tax payments due to poor crops and / or commodity prices. Nebraska currently ranks number #3 in the number of farm and ranch bankruptcies in the entire United States.

Low-income citizens would benefit from the EPIC Option because there would be no consumption tax on used goods like vehicles, clothes and furniture. They tend to spend more of their money on used goods than on new goods purchased at retail. The elimination of property taxes would also be a major benefit to homeowners, whether a young family that is buying their first home or a retired couple living on a fixed income.

There would be no consumption tax on any business-to-business transactions under the EPIC Option Plan. For example, for a new medical facility, there is no consumption tax to construct the building, add the interior finishes, or buy and install the MRI, Cat Scan or X-ray equipment. For farmers and ranchers, there is no consumption tax on new or used equipment, parts, fertilizer, seed, or irrigation systems.

With EPIC, all citizens who buy new retail products or services will pay the consumption tax at the point of retail purchase, whether new clothes, furniture, homes, vehicles, and the co-pay portion of health services. That will make the consumption tax a fair tax system for everyone, including the people traveling thru Nebraska who purchase retail products and meals at restaurants.

Two nationally respected economists are fully supportive of EPIC Option: Stephen Moore and Art Laffer. They agree with the Beacon Hill dynamic study that estimates Nebraska will experience a major economic boom after the voters vote consumption tax to replace the current 5 burdensome taxes. The EPIC plan will broaden the tax base from $60 billion to $162 billion by eliminating all current sales tax exemptions.

Volunteer circulators have been diligently gathering voter signatures at car shows, gun shows, county fairs, the Nebraska State Fair, and Husker Harvest days. Their goal is to collect 160,000 signatures by May 1st, 2024, and submit to the Secretary of State’s office for verification. A second parameter must also be met for a valid petition drive: collect a minimum of 5% voter signatures from 38 counties.

If you need more information before deciding YES or NO about signing these two petitions, visit http://www.EPICoption.org.

Mark Bonkiewicz