News Updates

Spurred by legitimate discontent over rising property tax burdens, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) is searching for bold solutions. But the plan, which reportedly involves a two-tiered sales tax and the state’s assumption of most school funding responsibility, would have profound implications that even those most convinced of the urgency of property tax relief may find unworkable and unpalatable.

Whatever ability Gov. Jim Pillen has — or lacks — to persuade state senators on property taxes, he’s at least clarifying the choices Nebraskans face. This is an interesting editorial published in The North Platte Telegraph.

Eleven lawmakers will host two listening sessions on property taxes in the state’s two most populous cities after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen opted out of doing so. Pillen, in his quest to reform property taxes, crisscrossed the state, visiting 26 cities in May and June for town halls to pitch his evolving reform plans. He asked Nebraskans to offer feedback and to pressure state senators to support his ideas, although senators later said they received little feedback.

Governor says the state needs immediate action for ‘a crisis that has been accelerating at warp speed’; opponent says a ‘third grader’ could see working Nebraskans will pay more.

Governor's plan is light on specifics.

We have an outstanding line-up of speakers and topics for this year's Women in Accounting Summit. See you on Aug. 28 at the Riverview Lodge in Ashland for this third annual event!

In every state, revenue from property taxes is one of the biggest sources of K-12 school funding. But that could change soon as efforts ramp up in a handful of states to abandon property taxes altogether, or at least as a funding source for schools.

Some Nebraska lawmakers working with Gov. Jim Pillen on property tax reforms this summer said Monday if lawmakers do move to take over most K-12 school funding, it would be a multiyear process.

The Court held that the APA requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority and not to defer to an agency’s interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is facing pushback for some of his property tax reform ideas from some of his closest agricultural allies in the Legislature. He may need their support to pass reforms during a special session expected this month.

Organizers said they did not collect the required number of registered voter signatures for the 2024 ballot.

EY just released an updated U.S. Employment Tax Rates and Limits for 2024. Download the document for future reference.

The final regulations require custodial brokers to report transactions on Form 1099-DA, which the IRS will release soon. A different set of final regulations with rules for noncustodial brokers will be issued later.

The funding route for Gov. Jim Pillen’s property tax reforms ideas will likely continue to focus on sales and “sin” taxes, and he says that “income tax won’t be touched.”

As Governor Pillen has announced, he plans to issue a proclamation for a special session to begin Thursday, July 25, to address lowering Nebraska's property taxes. Special Sessions are different, and don’t always run on the typical Monday-Friday schedule, nor do they follow the same set of rules of procedure. Everything is compressed which means less time for bill introduction, review, and preparation for hearings.

Questions about accuracy and security could be slowing the adoption of generative AI in business, especially in such an exacting field as accounting. However, a pair of CPAs who recently presented to colleagues at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2024 said there's a way accountants can gain from generative AI now, without most of the risk.

Gov. Jim Pillen is asking the State of Nebraska to take on most or all public K-12 school spending, instead of funding schools through local property taxes. The shift would be a national standout.

The Chevron doctrine, adopted by the Court in 1984, required courts to give deference to a reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute by a government agency. But it was not until 2011, in Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 562 U.S. 44 (2011), that the justices resolved a split in the lower courts and held that Chevron deference applied to interpretive tax regulations issued under Sec. 7805(a), which gives a general grant of authority to Treasury to "prescribe all needful rules and regulations for … enforcement" of the Code. Before that decision, courts had generally given a lower level of deference to Treasury's interpretive regulations.

This interactive shows how many people are older and younger than you are.

The Supreme Court’s 7–2 ruling to validate a Trump-era tax provision on US businesses’ foreign profits was overshadowed by a decision it didn’t make on the wealth tax. Experts thought the court might use the foreign income case to preemptively rule on the constitutionality of a tax on Americans’ net worths, which the Biden administration and other Democrats have proposed. But the justices made a narrow ruling, punting on the wealth tax issue for now. Some saw that as a win for Biden, as it keeps alive the possibility of a tax on wealthy Americans’ estates. The court still has a number of significant cases to decide this session, including one on Trump’s demand for total immunity.