Nebraska governor gives up on bill to cut potato tax
They growers wish to have less governmental regulations and were annoyed that they were not consulted about Legislative Bill 348 before it was introduced on behalf of Ricketts.
The tax amounts to one cent per 100 pounds of potatoes produced, packaged or shipped by the 15 or so commercial growers in Nebraska. It raises about $75,000 per year, which potato producers use to help fund research or promote their products.
“We heard about this about 10 days ago,” said James Allen, general manager of Western Potatoes in Alliance. “How does this happen?”
Taylor Gage, the governor’s spokesman, said that Ricketts changed his stance after hearing the pleas of the potato industry members.
“At the time the bill was introduced, it was the administration’s understanding that the potato shippers no longer valued the checkoff because the proceeds from this tax had not been utilized for several years,” Gage said.
source: omaha.com
