Tax investment plan for roads construction discussed

Lawmakers considered a bill April 29 that would fund public roads projects with private investment.

LB82, introduced by Columbus Sen. Paul Schumacher, would allow taxpayers to pay extra taxes in return for a future income tax credit. The revenue raised by the tax investments would be earmarked for highway construction projects.

Schumacher said the bill would provide an infusion of needed capital for roads infrastructure in return for an inflation protected, T-Bill rate of return in the form of a credit against future tax liability of the saver.

“We live in a world that is pretty much in financial chaos,” he said. “We have a public that is cash rich and looking desperately for a safe place to invest. This is an opportunity to have Nebraskans invest in Nebraska.”

The bill would require taxpayers younger than 62 to wait five years before claiming the credit. The waiting period would be waived for those over 62. The credit would be adjusted for inflation with an interest calculation equal to the T-Bill rate of return.

Credits would expire, unless claimed, 20 years after the underlying payment. In the case of death of the taxpayer, the credits would expire in five years.

Omaha Sen. Heath Mello opposed the bill. He questioned the constitutionality of the proposal and its implications for the state’s general fund.

“[The state] would have to account for this money,” he said. “What’s to say that contractors and businesses engaged in road construction wouldn’t prepay their taxes to generate more funds for road construction?”

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad also opposed the bill, saying that such a bold proposal should be studied more closely.

“Rather than making any major changes to our tax code, I’d like to see this rolled into our tax commission study,” she said.

A Schumacher amendment would have clarified that credits could be applied only toward income taxes and not sales taxes as provided for in the original bill. It also would have corrected a drafting error in the formula used to calculate tax credits. The amendment fell short of adoption on a 24-13 vote. Twenty-five votes were needed.

A technical committee amendment was not adopted on a 18-8 vote and the bill failed to advance from general file on a 22-15 vote.