Nebraska Tax Petition Efforts Hit Pause Amid Strategic Overhaul
A grassroots initiative aiming to overhaul Nebraska’s tax system has temporarily halted its efforts to gather support. The EPIC Option group, which proposed eliminating property, income, and inheritance taxes in favor of consumption and excise taxes, has paused its campaign.
Originally launched last summer under the name “EPIC 2.0,” the initiative intended to gather enough signatures to present the measure to voters. Steve Jessen, president of the EPIC Option group, shared in a website update that the number of notarized petitions collected weekly fell short of expectations.
“As a result, volunteer signature collection for the 2026 initiative has paused. This decision does not end EPIC Option; it marks a reset and a stronger path forward with the launch of EPIC Option 3.0. EPIC Option 3.0 remains fully committed to eliminating Nebraska’s property, income, and inheritance taxes,” Jessen stated.
Jessen expressed confidence in the future success of the initiative with the forthcoming EPIC Option 3.0, noting that no ballot initiative has succeeded using only volunteer efforts since 1966. The strategy will shift to employing paid circulators for the 2028 ballot attempt.
“Our immediate goal is to raise $1.86 million to pay circulators to collect 160,000 signatures. If just 8,000 Nebraskans donate $250, Nebraska Second House will raise $2 million dollars. This is a small investment compared to the annual tax burden that will be eliminated,” Jessen wrote.
The petition aims to amend the state constitution, necessitating signatures from 10% of Nebraska voters, translating to about 125,000 people, and must include 5% of registered voters from at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
A similar effort in 2024 was unsuccessful, with the campaign failing to submit enough signatures to the Secretary of State. Despite a year and a half of volunteer-driven petition circulation, the group eventually invested $1 million in a signature collection company to bolster efforts in metropolitan areas.
The 2024 petition faced challenges from misinformation spread by opponents and a shortfall in funding. The current petition drive highlights funding as a critical element for success, stating, “One critical factor is essential for implementing this plan – funding.”
“If everyone who signed the initial EPIC Option petitions donated just $250.00, we are confident we’d have the funding needed to successfully implement the plan,” the website asserts.
During the previous campaign, various groups opposed the consumption tax proposal. The Tax Foundation published a report estimating the necessary consumption tax rate at 21.6% or higher to offset the loss of other taxes, significantly higher than the EPIC team’s 7.5% estimate, which the foundation critiqued as “flawed calculations.”
Opposition also came from former state senators, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, and other statewide organizations, who formed a group called “No New Taxes” to counter the EPIC initiative for 2024.
