News Updates

A bipartisan law, passed to protect U.S. economic and national security, requires many small businesses to report beneficial ownership information to the U.S. government about the real people who own or control them.

A KETV investigation reveals Gov. Jim Pillen and his businesses were eligible for more than $64,000 in tax credits that most Nebraskans won't be able to cash in on — all due to a bill passed during the special session.

Changes are provided for Income Tax, sales & Use Taxes, Tax Incentives, Miscellaneous, Lottery/Charitable Gaming, and LB 34 Special Session.

A change in how property owners receive credit for taxes paid to support the local school district may cause some Nebraskans to miss out on tax relief this year.

The Iowa Supreme Court has clarified that non-attorneys can now assist with preparing, filing, or deciding on beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports without it being considered unauthorized practice of law.

State Sen. Steve Erdman says the revisions are a ‘plain and simple retroactive property tax increase’; State Sen. Brad von Gillern says there will be ‘no net difference to the taxpayer.’

Society lobbyist Korby Gilbertson takes a closer look at the Property Tax Credit.

In August 2022, when President Biden signed into law the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, it included an $80 billion increase in IRS funding. According to a 2021 Treasury Department report, this funding was intended to increase the IRS workforce by 87,000 employees, primarily dedicated to increasing IRS’s capacity to audit taxpayers.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue (DOR) is providing information on property tax relief changes resulting from a new credit through the passage of LB 34 (2024).

Here is a Special Session Update from our lobbyist Korby Gilbertson at Radcliffe, Gilbertson & Brady.

Nebraskans who have claimed a state income tax credit for property taxes paid in support of their area community college should continue to do so in the coming year.

Over the span of the last four months, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen lobbied energetically for significant property tax relief, with a stated goal of attaining 40% total property tax relief by the end of his second year in office. But when the Legislature completed its special session on Aug. 20, the result was an expanded and revamped program providing only about 3% to 4% more property tax relief, with total relief roughly around 20%, according to Pillen.

During the recent Special Session, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB34, which adopts the Property Tax Growth Limitation Act and the School District Property Tax Relief Act and changes provisions relating to revenue and taxation. The bill was signed by Gov. Jim Pillen on August 20, 2024.

Lawmakers embraced the ‘absolute minimum’ LB 34 and said farewell to the class of senators elected in 2016, who led the charge to continue working.

Senators said goodbye to the 108th Legislature, 1st Special Session, at 2:22 PM on Aug. 20 and there was applause in the Rotunda. At 2:30 PM, Governor Pillen and an invited group of senators held a press conference to claim victory and promise that they would be back for more.

What was intended to be a simple, rare Saturday meeting of the Nebraska Legislature began with flared emotions but ended with key senators making nice to save the very legislation their fight had imperiled.

The Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday it plans to mail up to 30,000 letters to reverse potentially more than $1 billion in incorrect Employee Retention Credit claims. It is sending the letters to underscore its reopening of a voluntary disclosure program for a limited time until Nov. 22, 2024. This will allow businesses to fix improper ERC claims at a 15% discount without penalties or interest.

The Mercatus Center of George Mason University has released its 2024 edition of “Snapshots of State Regulations.” As with most rating systems, this allows states to compare themselves to other states and examine particular strengths and weaknesses in their systems. These strengths and weaknesses explain good and bad rankings and provide focus areas for continued work or improvement.

The Nebraska Legislature started last week with LB34, introduced by Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, as the new vehicle for Gov. Jim Pillen's property tax relief plan. The bill was advanced from the Revenue Committee on a 6-1 vote with a committee amendment that contained the major portions of LB1, including new taxes and the elimination of certain exemptions for more than 60 products and services. (The provisions to tax accounting services and tax preparation services were removed before the bill even made it out of committee.) Ultimately, the amendment did not have enough votes to advance and they substituted that amendment with AM84, which significantly pared down the bill and ultimately advanced.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has amped up its outreach efforts to update businesses on the requirements for beneficial ownership information (BOI), which requires reports from over 32 million businesses this year.