Revenue committee hears calls to fix ‘gap year’ left by LB34 with LB81

Senator Brian Hardin, the bill’s introducer, told the Revenue Committee that LB 81 would “make 2024 eligible for the property tax credit fund” to correct what he described as an unintended gap caused by last year’s LB 34 special‑session changes.

The bill drew more than an hour of public testimony nearly all in support, with homeowners, farmers, business groups and tax professionals urging the committee to repair what they called a one‑year loss of property tax relief. Proponents described families and farmers who expected a refundable income‑tax credit but now see a larger net tax bill because the credit was shifted to automatic credits on property statements for a different year.

Why it matters: LB 34 moved most of the school property tax credit from a refundable income‑tax credit to an automatic credit applied at the time of property tax billing. Supporters of LB 81 told the committee that change produced timing winners and losers — in particular taxpayers who paid 2023 school property taxes in 2024 and therefore did not receive a…