Broadcasters mount last-minute blitz to delete tax on digital ads from Pillen plan [Video]

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Nebraska’s broadcasters are mounting an 11th-hour advertising blitz in hopes of overturning a proposed new tax on “digital ads” by Gov. Jim Pillen to finance his property tax relief plan.

The ads, which started running over the weekend on Nebraska radio and television stations, say the 7.5% excise tax on ads that run on some state broadcasting outlets, as well as on social media giants Facebook and Google, would “destroy many small businesses,” by reducing sales and forcing layoffs.

The ads urge listeners to contact their senator: “Nebraska needs to create jobs, not tax businesses to death.”

Legislative Bill 388, Pillen’s tax plan, comes up for final approval on Thursday — the final day of the 2024 session — and there’s little hope of a last-minute amendment, according to Jim Timm, president and executive director of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

But Timm said state legislators could, at the last second, defeat LB 388 and …