NTFpropertytax8.doc. 4-20.
NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM WORKSHEET:
PROPERTY TAX RATE FREEZE FOR 2020.
BACKGROUND. The COVID-19 virus outbreak has attacked American society with unexpected brutal force. Its intensity has crippled businesses, farmers, and ranchers, devastated personal investments and savings, and wreaked havoc with our state and national economies. The virus virulence also has greatly depressed the revenues collected by local governments through sales and other taxes and fees. NE State government, also reeling from the revenue downturn effects, probably will decrease funding for local governments, further shrinking their revenue expectations.
THE ANTICIPATED RESULT. It is likely that elected officials of local councils, boards, and commissions, faced with drastic shortfalls in revenues, naturally will turn to the base of their revenue support, property taxes, to compensate for the loss of anticipated revenues. Elected officials always find it easier to raise taxes than to find items to eliminate from their budgets. Hiking already burdensome property taxes on homeowners, businesses, farmers, and ranchers would pour political acid into already raw financial wounds of suffering NE taxpayers. If NE taxpayers behave like sheeple and do nothing to counter the usual fiscal actions of our local elected officials, then taxpayers can blame only themselves for a heavier yoke of property taxes.
NTF SOLUTION. Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, as an alternative to property tax increases, offers a better solution, budget cuts. Cities, counties, school districts, natural resources districts, etc. all begin assembling their annual budgets in the spring and complete them for public comment from late spring to late summer. Therefore, the time now is ripe for already overtaxed citizens to respectfully but vigorously demand that locally elected officials not use the COVID-19 virus outbreak as an excuse to raise our property tax rates. Instead, taxpayers must urge these officials to find places worthy of cutting from their annual budgets. Some citizens reluctantly may ignore this suggestion, not knowing precisely what items deserve excising from a budget. Such attitude is no excuse; NTF has lengthy lists of possible budget cuts for various local taxing bodies. Our suggested budget cuts would not curtail basic services necessary to manage and operate local governments but cut only non-necessity and non-mandated services and frivolous expenditures not germane to historically basic services.
TAKE ACTION NOW. We ask every NTF member and other fiscal conservatives to contact every one of their local property-taxing officials, lobbying them to cut their respective budgets and not vote for a FY 2020-2021 property tax hike. Now is the time to decide if you want to be one of the sheeple and grudgingly accept a tax increase or stand up for yourself and other taxpayers to demand fiscal accountability from your elected officials. Email netaxpayers@gmail.com for suggested budget cut ideas for your local taxing authorities and for help to determine who are your local taxing elected officials.
SAMPLE EMAIL OR LETTER CONTENT.
Dear Councilman/ County Commissioner/ School Board Member, NRD Board Member, etc.…………:
As a property taxpayer in your district, I am fully aware that the COVID-19 virus outbreak will cause a serious revenue shortfall in your FY 2020-2021 budget. I also am aware that it would seem the easiest course of action to merely raise the property tax levy in order to cover the anticipated revenue deficiency. Speaking as one of your taxpaying constituents, I want you to know that this coronavirus outbreak has (ex.: severely eroded my life savings/ impaired my employment/damaged my business), causing serious financial distress to my personal and family finances. Raising my property taxes this coming year would only increase my financial setback. Therefore, I am asking for your pledge now, in the form of a reply, that you will not raise my property tax rate when you vote on your FY 2020-2021 budget. I am attaching a short list of suggested budget cuts as an alternative.
Sincerely,
Research, documentation, and analysis for this worksheet done by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom. This material copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express prior permission granted for its use by other groups in the NE Conservative Coalition Network. 4-20. C