Press Release
June 20, 2024
“A New Tax Revolt”
By Sen. Steve Erdman, LD 47

Are you satisfied with your property valuation? The time has come to revolt. Nebraskans will never be heard until we collectively decide to protest our valuations. Protesting valuations is the most cost-efficient way to lead a tax rebellion. Therefore, I want to encourage every property owner in Nebraska to file a protest. Form 422 must be delivered in person to the county clerk or mailed with a postmark no later than June 30, 2024. Instructions for filing and Form 422 can be found on the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s website at https://revenue.nebraska.gov. Let this be the year when our elected officials hear our collective cry against unabated and ever-increasing property taxes.

Sen. Steve Erdman, LD 47

Jesus once said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13. I am not trying to get religious, but this is the expected principle to live by when you serve as a chaplain in the military. Of course, that principle is much easier said than done. Nevertheless, four Army chaplains once displayed this kind of love and courage during the days of WWII, so today I would like to recall their story.

The SS Dorchester had been requisitioned as a troop carrier during the Second World War. While enroute to Greenland with almost 900 troops aboard and nearing safe waters, a German U-boat successfully shot a torpedo into the engine room of the SS Dorchester in the early morning hours of February 3, 1943. Life expectancy in such frigid waters has been estimated at only 20 minutes.

Four Army chaplains who had been relegated to serve at the airfields and installations in Greenland never hesitated to put the lives of their countrymen ahead of their own. These four chaplains sacrificed their own chances of survival in order to help their fellow soldiers escape. These four chaplains distributed life preservers and helped others abandon ship. When they finally ran out of life preservers, they gave up their own and then huddled together in prayer as the ship sank and disappeared under the cold waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean. So, who were these brave men who so unselfishly sacrificed their lives that day?

The first was John P. Washington of Newark, New Jersey. Fr. Washington had been ordained as a Catholic priest on June 15, 1935, and was serving in parish ministry when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When Washington tried to enlist in the Navy, he was denied due to poor eyesight in one eye. So, he decided to try the Army. This time he covered up his bad eye both times while reading the eye chart and the doctors were too busy to notice.

Alexander D. Goode of Washington, D.C. wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a rabbi. After completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Cincinnati, he became penniless student during the Great Depression and nearly quit his studies at Hebrew Union College, but managed to graduate in 1937. He, too, had been rejected by the Navy, but was picked up by the Army after Pearl Harbor.

George L. Fox of Lewiston, Pennsylvania had previously served as a medic in World War I, where his gallant service had already earned him a silver star and several purple hearts. Fox had worked as an evangelist before entering Moody Bible Institute in 1923. He sought further education at Wesleyan University and Boston University’s School of Theology until he was finally ordained as a Methodist minister on June 10, 1934. The events at Pearl Harbor, however, had drawn Fox back into active duty at the age of 42. When Fox died that day aboard the SS Dorchester he left behind a wife, a son, and a seven-year-old daughter.

Clark V. Poling of Columbus, Ohio was destined to follow his father, who had been a prominent radio evangelist and religious newspaper editor, by extending his family’s line of six generations of Christian ministers. After graduating from Yale Divinity School, he became an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America. His father, Dr. Daniel A. Poling, had warned his son not to enlist due to the high casualty rate of chaplains in WWI. Against his father’s advice, the younger Clark decided to serve his country anyway, realizing that God was ultimately in control of his life.

I share the stories of these four chaplains with you today because they were real people and to remind you about the tremendous cost of war, the bravery of our fallen heroes, and the love of God and country which marks the souls of so many who have gone before us in order to secure our freedoms. This Memorial Day please remember that in military service all gave some, but some gave all.

One of the bills I will introduce in 2023 is a bill to move the headquarters for the Game and Parks Commission to Sidney. I believe moving the headquarters to Sidney would be advantageous for Western Nebraska and it would put the Commission right where they need to be.

Current state law says that the headquarters for the Game and Parks Commission has to be in Lincoln, but having the headquarters in Lincoln makes little sense, especially when it comes to wildlife. There is very little wildlife in the City of Lincoln, so those who work for the Commission seldom ever encounter the same kinds of problems with wildlife that we see in Western Nebraska.

Wildlife populations have become a major problem in the Panhandle. Herds of antelope, deer, and elk have grown out of control in Western Nebraska, where they damage crops, destroy fences, and pollute hay. Relocating the headquarters to Sidney would put the management right where these problems lie. This would enable those working for the Game and Parks Commission to see firsthand what kind of damage these animals do to farmers and ranchers. Game and Parks needs to get these herds under control or consider reimbursing landowners for the damages these animals do to property.

State parks in Western Nebraska do not get the same kind of special treatment that state parks get in Eastern Nebraska. For example, Mahoney State Park offers glamping, an aquatic center, an indoor playground, a treetops ropes course, an observation tower and even an indoor rock-climbing wall. Similarly, the Platte River State Park offers a wide range of glamorous outdoor activities, including horseback riding, a water spray park, and canoeing and kayaking just to name a few. We seldom ever see these kinds of amenities at our state parks in Western Nebraska.

The fact of the matter is that the camping fees collected at state parks in Western Nebraska end up getting used to spruce up state parks on the eastern side of the State. And that’s not right. For far too long the Commission has favored parks on the eastern side of the State. By moving them to Sidney, maybe they will begin to see how our parks fare compared to those in the Eastern part of the state.

Moving the Game and Parks Commission would give an added boost to Sidney’s economy. Those who work for the Game and Parks Commission would have to relocate to Sidney, where they would purchase housing, buy their groceries, fuel their vehicles, and pay for entertainment. All of this would be a big bonus to Sidney’s economic recovery ever since Cabela’s abandoned them.

I introduced a similar bill back in 2021. However, LB 562 never advanced out of committee and was indefinitely postponed at the end of the session. For whatever reason the Natural Resources Committee was not yet ready to commit to the idea. Because it often takes several years to get a good bill passed into law, I will try again.

The public hearing for my priority bill has been set at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln for Thursday, February 3, 2022 beginning at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the hearing and to testify in person. LR 264 CA is my priority bill. LR 264 CA is a resolution for a constitutional amendment for the consumption tax. Before the consumption tax can ever become law in Nebraska, the voters must vote to amend the Nebraska State Constitution.

LR 264 CA contains the ballot language that would be put on the ballot for the election to be held on November 8 later this year. That ballot language would read as follows: “Beginning January 1, 2024 no taxes other than retail consumption taxes and excise taxes shall be imposed on the people of Nebraska.”

The consumption tax is needed in Nebraska because our current tax system is broken. Nebraska’s tax system is beyond the point of repair. Nebraskans no longer have time for slow, incremental repairs to their tax system. The ship is sinking fast, and no number of buckets can curtail the amount of water flowing aboard. Instead, the time has come to abandon ship and build a new and better one.

That is what the consumption tax will do for Nebraska. Last week Daniel J. Pilla, who is a tax litigation expert and founder of the Tax Freedom Institute delivered a series of lectures on tax reform across the State of Nebraska. Pilla wrote the book on tax policy. According to Pilla the only kind of tax system which can survive his rigid test of ten tax principles is a broad-based sales tax, otherwise known as the consumption tax.

In short order form Daniel J. Pilla’s ten tax principles can be summarized as 1) Simplicity: The tax code should be simple to understand, 2) Noninvasiveness: The Tax code should encourage voluntary compliance, 3) Efficiency: The fewer taxes, the better, 4) Stability: The tax code should provide reliable revenues for the State, 5) Visibility: Government spending should be transparent, 6) Neutrality: Taxes should not favor one industry or class of people over another, 7) Economic Growth: The tax code should encourage investing and consumer spending, 8) Broad-Based: Everyone should make a contribution, 9) Equality: Everyone should be treated equally and fairly, and 10) Constitutionality: Tax revenues should only be used for clearly defined constitutional functions.

The consumption tax not only complies with each of these ten tax principles, but it also has the potential to make Nebraska the most tax friendly state in the Union. Instead of losing populations, resources, and revenues to other states, people will want to move themselves and their businesses to Nebraska. The time has come to blow up our current tax system and start over with a whole new tax system which works. So, today I am inviting you to join my effort by submitting comments for the public record and asking the members of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee to advance LR 264 CA out of committee. The deadline to submit comments for the public record is February 2, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

The procedure for submitting online comments to resolutions and bills for the record has changed this year. To submit a comment online, go to the Legislature’s webpage at www.nebraskalegislature.gov. In the “Search Current Bills” box enter LR 264 CA to get the webpage for the resolution. Then, click on the “Submit Comments” box. Complete the information asked for and post any comments in the comments box. Just tell the committee members why you want the consumption tax. Afterwards, you will receive an email asking for you to confirm your submission. Be sure to respond to that email. Unless you respond to the confirmation notice, your comments won’t be submitted for the public record. Let’s show the Revenue Committee how much Nebraskans want this kind of tax reform.