Nebraska Micro Enterprise Action

You have an opportunity to make a difference on a bill to strengthen rural Nebraska through support for small business and beginning farmers.

LB 177 would improve the Nebraska Micro Enterprise Investment Tax Credit. (Details below). It provides a 20 percent investment tax credit up to $10,000 for owner-operated businesses with five or fewer employees.

But one critical element was eliminated in committee.

The total tax credits for all microenterprises in the state would continue to be limited to $2 million per year, on a first come first serve basis. Once $2 million in tax credits are claimed, all subsequent applications are denied. Meanwhile, tax credits for big businesses are uncapped at a cost 50 – 60 times that amount.

Please call or write your State Senator today (contact information is below). Urge him/her to support LB 177 to improve microenterprise tax credits. Most important, urge him/her to amend LB 177 to remove the $2 million cap on total credits.

If Nebraska can afford over $100 million annually for big business, surely we can afford more than 1/50 of that amount for the smallest businesses that have been the backbone of the rural economy.

Details: Under current law, the microenterprise tax credit applies only to new investment in plant, equipment and employees. Under LB 177, the credit would also apply to health insurance, legal services, advertising and professional fees. In agriculture, the credit would be targeted to beginning farmers and ranchers. It would also be available for diversification into nontraditional enterprises such as agritourism and specialty crops.

We are targeting the following districts. If you are not in one of these districts, and would like to participate in this action, you can find your Senator's contact information on the state legislature website.

District	Senator	Phone	Fax	Email
2	Dave Pankonin	402-471-2613	402-479-0902	dpankonin@leg.ne.gov
3	Gail Kopplin	402-471-2627	402-479-0903	gkopplin@leg.ne.gov
16	Kent Rogert	402-471-2728	402-479-0916	krogert@leg.ne.gov
18	Mick Mines	402-471-2618	402-479-0918	mmines@leg.ne.gov
19	Mike Flood	402-471-2929	402-479-0919	mflood@leg.ne.gov
20	Brad Ashford	402-471-2622	402-479-0920	bashford@leg.ne.gov
21	Carol Hudkins	402-471-2673	402-479-0921	chudkins@leg.ne.gov
22	Arnie Stuthman	402-471-2715	402-479-0922	astuthman@leg.ne.gov
23	Chris Langemeier	402-471-2719	402-479-0923	clangemeier@leg.ne.gov
24	Greg Adams	402-471-2756	402-479-0924	gadams@leg.ne.gov
30	Norm Wallman	402-471-2620	402-479-0930	nwallman@leg.ne.gov
32	Russ Karpisek	402-471-2711	402-479-0932	rkarpisek@leg.ne.gov
33	Carroll Burling	402-471-2712	402-479-0933	cburling@leg.ne.gov
35	Ray Aguilar	402-471-2617	402-479-0935	raguilar@leg.ne.gov
37	Joel Johnson	402-471-2726	402-479-0937	jjohnson@leg.ne.gov
38	Tom Carlson	402-471-2732	402-479-0938	tcarlson@leg.ne.gov
39	Dwite Pedersen	402-471-2885	402-479-0939	dpedersen@leg.ne.gov
40	M.L. Dierks	402-471-2801	402-479-0940	mdierks@leg.ne.gov
41	Vickie McDonald	402-471-2631	402-479-0941	vmcdonald@leg.ne.gov
42	Tom Hansen	402-471-2729	402-479-0942	thansen@leg.ne.gov
43	Debra Fischer	402-471-2628	402-479-0943	dfischer@leg.ne.gov
44	Mark Christensen	402-471-2805	402-479-0944	mchristensen@leg.ne.gov
47	Philip Erdman	402-471-2616	402-479-0947	perdman@leg.ne.gov
49	LeRoy Louden	402-471-2725	402-479-0949	llouden@leg.ne.gov

Nebraska Micro Enterprise Action

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