Tax incentive proposed for move to rural Nebraska

Counties experiencing a decrease in population could see the addition of new residents under a bill considered in a Revenue Committee hearing Jan. 27.

LB850, introduced by Kearney Sen. Galen Hadley, would address the issue of counties experiencing a decrease in population. Counties with a net loss of 5 percent in population between 2000 and 2010 would qualify.

Hadley said he introduced the bill to provide an incentive for people to move to rural Nebraska.

“The sooner we act proactively, the stronger our state will be moving forward,” Hadley said.

Under the bill, a resident would receive a $1,500 tax credit for each year he or she lives within one of the designated counties and would not have to reapply for the credit each year. To qualify for the credit, a person must have lived outside Nebraska for five years preceding their residency in a designated county and received less than $10,000 in income from a Nebraska source during each of those five years.

The credit would continue until Dec. 31, 2017.

Nicole Sedlacek, Holt County Economic Development executive director, testified in support of the bill. She said the biggest problem facing her county is not the number of jobs, but the number of qualified workers.

“Urban Nebraska needs strong rural communities,” Sedlacek said. “We are not asking for a handout, but simply asking for a hand up.”

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action.