An ode to farmers

Spring in Nebraska brings the sight and sounds of tractors in the fields and the smell of freshly tilled earth. The truly oldest profession is farming! Right away in Genesis 2:15, God puts Adam in the garden to “work it and take care of it.” This job assignment was given before the fall (so, contrary to popular belief, work is not part of the curse) and even before Eve was created. Farming is a noble profession and our area is at the center of America’s “Breadbasket to the World.”

It has been many years since my early years back on the farm and it has been interesting to look at farm life through adult eyes and see the many changes that have occurred. One of the things I distinctly remember, however, is how satisfying it is to look back over a long day’s work on the farm and see what you have accomplished. Farming is the epitome of the biblical law of reciprocity—you reap what you sow, more than you sow and later than you sow.

Ninety-two percent of Nebraska’s land is dedicated to agriculture, while 20 percent of our economy is ag related and 25 percent of our jobs are tied to ag. With 38 percent of our ag land being irrigated, we rank first in the nation as the state having the most cropland watered from the world’s largest underground body of water, the Ogallala Aquifer. Amazingly, if you were to put the Ogallala Aquifer above the ground instead of under it, the land would be covered in 38 feet of water.

Nebraska also ranks No. 1 in agricultural cash receipts per capita, No. 2 in ethanol production as well as cattle on feed, all cattle and calves, beef exports and commercial red meat production, No. 3 in corn for grain production, corn exports and total ag cash receipts, No. 4 for land in farms and ranches, No. 5 for soybean exports, soybean production and sugar-beet production, No. 6 for commercial hog slaughter and seventh in hogs and pigs on farms and pork exports.

With these facts in mind, it goes without saying that agriculture is an important source of revenue (read that “taxes”) for the state. However, not only is the farmer taxed on the income from the farm, but the land itself is taxed as well each year. This runs counter to what the government should do regarding productivity. Government should promote productivity, not penalize productivity.

The recent legislative session did not pass a bill that was intended to lower property taxes (LB 388). The bill would have raised taxes on soda, candy, pet services, storage and moving, dry cleaning, the lottery (by 20 percent), cigarettes (up to $1 tax) and CBD products (100 percent) while lowering property taxes. A supermajority was needed to override a filibuster and would have fallen short, so the bill was not voted on and therefore died with the close of the session.

Meanwhile, Nebraska’s current sales tax is 5.5 percent, making it the third highest of our six surrounding states. Our state income tax ranges from 2.46 to 6.64 percent and is currently the third highest among our closest neighbors. However, by 2027 it will be 3.99 percent and property tax at 1.63 percent will be the highest in our region!

This coming July, Gov. Pillen will be calling the legislature back into session to hammer out a new tax formula to help make Nebraska more competitive with our bordering states. To date, a new plan has not been unveiled, but the Revenue Committee (responsible for tax law) and the governor’s office are working on ideas.

With tax numbers fresh on our minds from last month’s income tax filing deadline, it would behoove you to go to EPICoption.org and type in your numbers to see if the state’s adoption of the EPIC tax would save you money. EPIC stands for Eliminate Property, Income and Corporate (along with inheritance and sales) taxes with a consumption tax. A Beacon Hill study of Nebraska showed that a tax of 7.5 percent on new items (excluding food) could entirely replace the revenue from our current tax system. Meanwhile, currently 40 percent of Nebraskans do not pay income or property taxes, yet they use our roads, schools and police protection. A consumption tax would gather revenue from all those buying new goods and services. Our current tax situation is a deterrent to people moving to our state. With the EPIC tax option you control how much tax you pay by controlling how much you buy new. The current tax code in Nebraska takes up 1,271 pages while our federal law is 6,871 pages long. For taxpayers, it is not uncommon to have over 100 pages of tax paperwork, including worksheets and other forms, to fill out each year. This costs an untold amount of time and money just for people to pay their taxes, while, as noted above, many who benefit from government services pay no taxes at all.

As former presidential candidate Steve Forbes once said, “Make tax cuts big, bold and simple.” Our tax system needs a major overhaul and I can think of nothing bigger, more bold or more simple than the EPIC option and taxing consumption so that everyone pays their share.

Loren Lippincott represents Legislative District 34 in the Nebraska State Senate. Read his column in the Nance County Journal.