LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state lawmaker is looking to get rid of Nebraska’s tax on illegal drugs, arguing that it violates constitutional rights and that virtually no one pays it.
Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete argued Wednesday that prosecutors use the tax law to “pile on” to criminal defendants who have already been caught with illegal drugs.
Her proposal before the Legislature’s Revenue Committee would repeal a law that requires anyone with illegal drugs to buy a drug tax stamp from the Nebraska Department of Revenue. Ebke says the current law could infringe on constitutional protections against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.
Ebke says the state collected $13,110 from tax stamp sales between October 1991 and October 2017.
A groups representing defense attorneys supports the bill, while prosecutors and law enforcement officials oppose it.