Lancaster County District Judge Robert Otte issued his decision March 12 in the case of Kiplinger et al. v. Nebraska Dept. of Natural Resources et al., in which residents and taxpayers had challenged the occupation tax authorized by the same legislation, LB 701, that had authorized the property tax levied by basin NRDs for Republican River Compact compliance purposes, and which the Supreme Court found unconstitional. Judge Otte found the occupation tax is an excise tax, and thus not subject to the provisions of Neb. Const. art. VIII, section 1A, that the occupation tax does not result in a commuation of taxes, and that the classification of districts permitted to levy the tax does not create a closed class.
Read the opinion here.
Read my eNews article about the opinion here.
