State Implications of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
As the US House hashes out its “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” statehouse lawmakers are watching closely, given the impact of both its tax and spending provisions on state budgets.
12 min readNebraska‘s tax system ranks 24th overall on the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index. Nebraska has taken strides to improve its income tax competitiveness in recent years by reducing its individual and corporate income tax rates. Currently, the state’s graduated individual income tax rates range from 2.46 percent to 5.84 percent, and its corporate income tax rates range from 5.58 to 5.84 percent. Despite these improvements, Nebraska maintains an uncompetitive “convenience of the employer rule,” which can lead to double taxation (with no offsetting credit) for remote employees working for businesses located in Nebraska—ultimately a disincentive for businesses to locate in the state if they want to be able to hire across the country. Nebraska also requires individual income tax filing and withholding for nonresidents working even a single day in the state.
Notably, Nebraska’s property taxes are on the high side regionally and nationally, and Nebraska is one of the few states that continues to impose an antiquated capital stock tax, which is assessed against the net worth of Nebraska corporations and imposed regardless of whether a firm makes a profit. The Nebraska Occupation Tax, as it is known in the state, is collected every other year, which complicates the filing process, since firms must track their net worths across two tax years. Nebraska also retains an inheritance tax, albeit on a declining share of beneficiaries, and is the only state to have adopted but then abandoned a tangible personal property tax de minimis exemption.
Category | Rank | Rank Change | Score |
---|---|---|---|
Overall | 24 | -4 | 5.16 |
Corporate Taxes | 20 | -7 | 5.36 |
Individual Income Taxes | 26 | -3 | 5.28 |
Sales Taxes | 13 | 1 | 5.24 |
Property Taxes | 45 | 0 | 3.93 |
Unemployment Insurance Taxes | 3 | 1 | 6.01 |
As the US House hashes out its “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” statehouse lawmakers are watching closely, given the impact of both its tax and spending provisions on state budgets.
12 min readAccording to the latest economic data from the US Census Bureau, the average per capita state and local tax burden is $7,109. However, collections vary widely by state, reflecting differences in tax rates and bases, natural resource endowments, the scale and scope of taxable economic activity in each state, and residents’ political preferences.
5 min readA tax preference originally designed to level the playing field now has the opposite effect, creating preferences for one class of financial institutions even though the distinctions between credit unions and banks are increasingly blurred.
6 min read