Herbster Promises Tax & Immigration Reform

Charles W. Herbster made a campaign stop in O'Neill in early March of this year. Herbster is seen here visiting with Candi Schindler of O'Neill.

Charles W. Herbster, one of nine candidates running to fill the governor position in Nebraska, is a tough competitor and one of the top three candidates on the Republican ticket  for the primary election, to be decided on Tuesday, May 10.

The top candidates, Jim Pillen, Charles Herbster and Brett Lindstrom have increased their media presence in the last few weeks before the primary.

Herbster, of Falls City has emphasized his agricultural roots. Herbster is the owner of Herbster Angus Farms in Falls City and the owner and CEO of Conklin Company, based in Kansas City, MO. He also worked as an agriculture adviser to President Trump.

Herbster is running on a platform of immigration reform, government over reach, and fixing a broken tax code in Nebraska.

"The Nebraska tax system is not working for Nebraskans. As a businessman, farmer and rancher, I feel the weight that has been placed on us. Property and income taxes are crushing small businesses, creating undue burden on farmers and ranchers, and promoting large government in Nebraska.

It is time for Nebraska to completely rehaul the system. States like South Dakota have implemented a FAIR Tax System that works for everyone. The creation of a new consumption-based tax system will rebuild those forgotten communities and restore the heart of our state," said Herbster.

As far as immigration Herbster feels  that at a time when Americans are struggling with exploding inflation, "we cannot afford paying for more illegal immigrants."

As we see crime rates rising across the country, we cannot allow more criminals to be imported into America.

Herbster said a governor's responsibility is two-fold. "First and foremost, a governor is supposed to lead the people of their state," he said. “But secondly, we're at a point in America where governors are going to have to be conservative individuals with a strong backbone. And they're going to have to push against federal government overreach,” he said.

"From vaccine and mask mandates to curriculum in our schools, parents have a right to be both informed and engaged in any decision that impacts their children.

You do not need to look further than a local School Board meeting to see the concern and frustration parents have after watching the government make poor decisions impacting their children.

This cannot happen in Nebraska. In Nebraska we appreciate, respect, and encourage parents to be informed and engaged with anything impacting their children."

“We are going to fight for the best Nebraska we've ever had tax-wise, education-wise, immigration and all the things that are important to us,” Herbster said.

“Everywhere I go in the state, and I've been traveling constantly, everybody's going to talk to you about property tax,” he said. “We've been talking about that in Nebraska for 15 years. Everybody knows that, and we will address it. I will address it. But to me, it's bigger than that. It's a vision of how do we brand and market our state.” 

On Nebraska's tax code, his campaign website said that he'd advocate for shifting to a consumption tax-based system. But, in conversation, he didn't commit to one approach.

He has said the tax code is outdated and that any solution needs to be “revenue neutral,” meaning the state won't end up collecting more taxes. He named a few proposals for reforming the tax code from which he could draw, including a consumption tax-based proposal and a statewide initiative from Nebraska business and higher education leaders called Blueprint Nebraska.

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