NCN Ad Watch examining Lindstrom's tax promises finds answers in short supply

In one of his latest ads, State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, one of the frontrunners in the GOP race for governor, and one who insists he’s been hands-on cutting taxes in the Legislature, makes some big promises.

Lindstrom ad: "I'll…slash property taxes."

The kind of promise that begs the question, how?

                                                                               [View Lindstrom's ad promises in our full video report above]

Because, as is commonly known and noted on the Legislature’s website, “The property tax is levied only by local governments in Nebraska.”

So, in an email to Lindstrom’s campaign, News Channel Nebraska asked specifically, if elected governor, “How will he slash property taxes.”

The answer: Well, we’ve received no response.

Which then brings us to Lindstrom’s other promise. “I'll eliminate the income tax for middle class families…”

But the ad does not specify the income range for what Lindstrom, a self-proclaimed conservative, considers middle class and it raises other questions as well— most notably what if any changes he would make to the sales tax, a tax the state does have control over.

In a 2019 white paper from the Platte Institute, Nebraska’s leading conservative think tank, the thinkers argued “With property taxes being the number one frustration for many Nebraskans, leaders are looking to the sales tax…reducing reliance on the property tax through ending Nebraska’s many sales tax exemptions.”

During a recent debate Lindstrom said because ending the exemption on services such as car repair, massage therapy or haircuts would put a “burden on the backs of those individuals who can't afford it” he would be “very reluctant to take on a lot of the exemptions.”

So, in that same email noted earlier, NCN has also asked Lindstrom’s campaign, “If he will not eliminate many, if not all, sales tax exemptions while eliminating the income tax for middle class families (and how much would that amount to) how will he find the revenue to keep the state's budget in balance?

The answer? Once again, no response.