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Property taxes rule
discussion at meeting
By Erin Schulte
Staff Reporter
Property taxes were on the menu
Wednesday morning for the “Town
and Gown” meeting, a traditional
meeting of Lincoln business officials
and UNL representatives.
Ed Jaksha, one of the founders of
Nebraskans for Tax Relief, a grass
roots organization and a panel mem
ber in the discussion, said the time for
property tax relief was at hand. A pe
tition for a constitutional amendment
would try to achieve this, he said.
Jaksha said more than half of Ne
braskans’ earnings go toward some
form of taxes. He said if that trend did
not stop or reverse by the year 2010,
80 percent would be spent on taxes.
A constitutional amendment would
be the best solution, Jaksha said, be
cause it couldn’t be changed by legis
lators, giving the public more say in
the decision.
Jaksha's petition is one of three
now on November’s ballot. Property
tax relief is widely regarded as the top
issue of the 1996 Nebraska legislative
session.
Lynn Rex, executive director of the
Nebraska League of Municipalities,
countered Jaksha’s argument, saying
Nebraska “has a tax problem, but not
a tax crisis.”
Rex said property tax relief would
make it a crisis.
Other taxes would be raised to
make up for property tax cuts, and
Nebraskans would end up paying
more tax money than ever, Rex said.
Jaksha said that citizens needed to
become more involved in legislative
decisions.
“It’s an unfair burden to legislators.
Decisions have to be made by default,”
he said.
Legislature examines
bill for Omaha arena
By Erin Schulte
Staff Reporter
Residents of the Omaha metropoli
tan area may gain new sports and en
tertainment facilities if a bill intro
duced by Sen. John Lindsay makes it
through the Legislature.
LB 1135 calls for the establishment
of the Metropolitan Entertainment and
Sports Authority, which would plan a
procedure to build a performing arts
and sports facility, possibly a dome.
Lindsay, of Omaha, said the bill
would bring together residents of Dou
glas and Sarpy counties, which com
prise most of the metropolitan area.
About 850,000 residents live in the
Omaha area, he said, which constitutes
the need for proper facilities.
Neither county alone could afford
to build improved facilities, he said,
but working together would benefit
both counties and distribute the finan
cial burden over a larger population.
The proposed facility would be
paid for through annual taxes assessed
by each county’s board. The level
would not exceed five cents per $100
of taxable property.
Omaha may be missing out on
large-scale sports and entertainment
events, he said. And Lindsay warned
that events now held in the area, such
as the College World Series, could be
moved somewhere else in the future
if better facilities were not available.
IRS allows millions to file
income taxes by telephone
By Craig Wagner
Staff Reporter
The April 15 rush to the mailbox
may be a little less congested this year,
thanks to a new tax return service re
cently announced by the IRS.
TeleFile, an electronic filing sys
tem, will enable an estimated 23 mil
lion Americans to process their in
come taxes by telephone.
“Filing taxes doesn’t get any easier
than this,” said IRS Commissioner
Margaret Milner Richardson.
According to a release from the
IRS, to be eligible for TeleFile, a per
son must be single with no dependents
and have earned a taxable income of
less than $50,000.
A person also must have filed a
1040EZ last year and still live at the
same address.
Students who filed tax returns from
their parents’ homes last year will be
eligible if their tax forms are still sent
home, said Chris DeSimone, who was
hired by the IRS to do public relations
work.
The TeleFile packet cannot be re
quested, DeSimone said.
If the IRS believes requirements
have been met, TeleFile information
will be sent with regular tax forms.
“Filing taxes doesn’t get
any easier than this. ”
MARGARET MILNER
„ RICHARDSON
IRS commissioner
'■ » -
Inside the TeleFile packet will be
an individual personal identification
number, as well as a preliminary
worksheet.
The PIN number will access the
taxpayer’s account and serve as iden
tification for further questions, the re
lease said. The worksheet helps as
semble necessary data.
The TeleFile service can be reached
by touch-tone telephone seven days a
week, 24 hours a day. The call should
last about 10 minutes.
The refund will be computed and
announced. Refund checks should be
received within three weeks. The
deadline for filing tax returns is April
15.
“TeleFile will not only save taxpay
ers time and trouble, but will also
make the IRS more efficient,”
Richardson said.
Aid office to have info desk
The Office of Scholarships and Fi- loans and financial aid will be an
nancial Aid will be sponsoring an in- swered.
formation desk in the Nebraska Union Help also will be available for stu
dying Februyy. dents wanting to fill out the Free Ap
Two financial aid office workers plication for Federal Student Aid, as
will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. well as financial aid renewal forms and
on the first floor of the union on the scholarship applications,
following dates; Feb. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13,
14,19,20 and 21.
Questions about scholarships, —Joshua Gillin
