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NTF
Worksheet. Cong24.
1-04. BACKGROUND.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
promulgated its interpretation of the Clean Water Act, an unfunded federal
mandate, to order cities and other localities to spend millions to purify
further the stormwater and utility water running into their streams and sewers
from roofs, driveways, parking lots, etc. States
not complying face a $37,500 per day fine. LB
32. Cities, counties, or
natural resource districts in the Omaha, Lincoln, and South Sioux City metro
areas would levy a new property or sales tax or fee on residential and
commercial properties. Other NE
urban areas the tax would hit later. The
Omaha City Council, Douglas County Board, and Papio-Missouri NRD already have
voted to enable themselves to levy this tax, although the NRD refused to endorse
the bill. State Sen. Shrock wants
natural resource districts to assess an additional 1.8c per $100 property
valuation to fund LB 32. Omaha residents would pay about $8 million for the
first year of implementation. Homeowners
would pay about $50 per year, grocery store-size businesses would pay $1,000 per
year. Complexes the size of
Westroads Shopping Center and large manufacturing sites also would pay $1,000.
Businesses will pass along their added costs to consumers. This bill
includes no incentives or tax credits for large businesses to install control
ponds to hold water runoff. Natural
resource taxing authorities push this legislation to fund new water quality
projects, though they cannot now keep their existing bike trails free of debris
and mud or cut tall musk thistle that almost grabs riders off their bikes.
They want to enlarge the creek channels. The Papio-MO. NRD paid a handsome sum to fund a frivolous
footbridge across the Missouri River at Omaha.
Sen. Schrock of Elm Creek, a rural senator, conveniently exempted
farmland, ranchland, and undeveloped land from his bill.
It seems unfair to exempt these properties from the provisions of LB 32,
as urban dwellers would have to pay higher property taxes to cover stormwater
runoff from these vast acreages. Tons of herbicides and pesticides and tons of
topsoil roll into NE streams and rivers from rural acreages.
Public school systems and the university systems also are attempting to
win immunity from this proposed tax, education officials whining about budget
cuts. Nonprofit entities, exempt
from property taxes heretofore, would have to pay this tax.
It is a travesty to initiate a new property tax during this recession.
No one has complained about masses of people getting sick from wading or
fishing in local creeks and lakes. Monies
raised would pay for public education, erosion control at construction sites,
monitoring of illegal dumping, and more frequent street sweeping.
Masses of citizens are not complaining about street sweeping schedules,
law enforcement already monitors dumping, and private construction companies
should pay for erosion control. TAX
FIGHTERS. Taxpayer groups, chambers
of commerce, school districts, hospitals, & church groups oppose LB 32. WHAT
TO DO. Contact
your congressman and 2 senators to initiate legislation to eliminate this EPA
bureaucratic regulation as an unfunded mandate and tax burden on local
taxpayers. Contact your city
councilman and county board members to vote NO on enabling legislation or to
reverse their votes, if they already have voted to permit this new tax. Contact your state senator to kill the enabling legislation,
LB 32, and instead pass a resolution to constitute a study committee to remove
this yoke from NE taxpayers. The
federal mandate does not require that local governments add a new tax to
accomplish the EPA objectives. Moreover,
local taxing authorities could use the new tax for other purposes.
Email us for
contact information for your elected officials.
Research
and documentation for this worksheet done by Doug Kagan.
This material copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express
prior permission granted for its use by Taxwatchers Inc., Cherry County
Taxpayers, Dawes County Taxpayers, Citizens for Local Control, and other groups
in the Tax Freedom Network. 1-04.
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