STATE TAX BRIEFING THE COMING EPIC DISASTER IN THE 1980 POPEYE MOVIE STARRING ROBIN WILLIAMS AND Shelley Duvall, shortly after Popeye climbs out of his little boat onto the dock in the town of Sweethaven, he is immediately met by the Tax Man. After a brief introduction, the Tax Man promptly proceeds to impose a “docking tax” of 25 cents, a “new-in-town tax” of 17 cents, a “rowboat-under-the-wharf tax” of 45 cents, a “leaving-your-junk-lying-around-the-wharf tax” of $1, and a “question tax” of 5 cents. If the new EPIC Option Consumption Tax initiative petitions get on the ballot, as expected, and are approved by Nebraskans in November, welcome to Nebraska’s version of Sweethaven. This article is offered as part of the ongoing debate about whether the EPIC Option is the right solution to Nebraska’s tax burden. What Is the EPIC Option? The EPIC Option website describes what the EPIC Option is intended to do: “EPIC Option will Eliminate all Nebraska Property, Income (/Inheritance), and Corporate taxes.” The EPIC Option website states that the EPIC Option will be achieved in two steps: “Step 1: Vote of the people to amend the Nebraska State Constitution on the November 2024 Ballot.” “Step 2: Vote of the Legislature.” The EPIC Option consists of two separate petitions filed by their sponsors on Oct. 14, 2022. These are detailed below. While the EPIC Option website describes in detail how the EPIC Option would be implemented, as well as the scope and proposed tax rate, this is all pursuant to legislation that, while already proposed, would apparently not be fully debated, designed, drafted, and approved by the Nebraska Legislature until after Nebraska’s voters approve the EPIC Option Nebraska Constitutional Amendments. (See pending LB 79 at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/ view_bill.php?DocumentID=50183.) In addition, since the EPIC Option is divided into two separate petitions, the possibilities are that neither is adopted, both are adopted, or one is adopted and one is rejected. Scope of This Article If either of the EPIC Option Constitutional Amendments is adopted, this would pose a variety of major impacts on every Nebraska citizen. Such an analysis is beyond the scope of this one article. Other organizations have already provided, or are in the process of providing, a fiscal impact analysis. For example, the March 2, 2023, OpenSky Policy Institute “Policy Brief: Consumption Tax” concludes that if the EPIC Option is enacted as proposed in LB 79, it would result in a $7.4 billion annual tax revenue loss and a tax rate of 22.1% would be required for EPIC to be revenue neutral—that’s nearly three times greater than what is proposed in the EPIC Option bill. (Read the full “Policy Brief” at www.openskypolicy.org/wp-content/ uploads/2023/03/20230302ConsumptionTaxBrief.pdf.) Instead, this article will focus on the legal issues and potential roadblocks posed by the brief, problematic language of the two EPIC Option initiative petitions. What Does the EPIC Option Language Actually Mean? As is often said, “The devil is in the details.” In drafting any type of document, whether it be a constitution, a statute, or a contract, balance is needed between succinctness and BY NICK NIEMANN & MATT OTTEMANN, MCGRATH NORTH LAW FIRM WHAT’S IN STORE IF THE EPIC OPTION BECOMES THE LAW 18 Nebraska CPA
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