LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and a key legislative leader pledged Thursday to cut taxes with the $412 million in excess revenue the state has collected over the last year.

Ricketts and state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, a fellow Republican, said they continue to view income and property tax reductions as one of their top priorities in the 2022 session.

Linehan, who leads the Legislature’s tax-focused Revenue Committee, said she expects a push this year to continue lowering Nebraska’s corporate income tax rate, as lawmakers did last year. She said lawmakers will also attempt to cut individual income tax rates and speed up the implementation of a Social Security tax exemption that’s set to go into effect in 2030.

“We need to give the money back to the people of Nebraska,” Ricketts said at a press conference with Revenue Committee members. “This is not our money. It’s not my money, it’s not a legislator’s money, it’s money that belongs to the people of Nebraska.”

Rickett said the budget he presents to state lawmakers next week will contain “significant room for tax relief.”

Nebraska lawmakers reduced the state’s corporate income tax last year from 7.81% to 7.25%, costing the state an estimated $26 million in lost revenue by fiscal 2025. Opponents have criticized such measures as a taxpayer-funded giveaway to corporations that don’t need it, in a state with the nation’s lowest unemployment rate.

Supporters said the change would bring the corporate income tax rate more in line with the rate paid by smaller businesses, which are often set up to pay taxes as individuals rather than corporations. The top individual income tax rate in Nebraska is 6.84%, although many residents pay a lower rate because of tax credits, deductions, and exemptions.

Nebraska is flush with cash this year thanks to higher-than-expected tax collections over the last year, driven largely by an economy that fared better than expected during the pandemic. The state has also received $1.04 billion in pandemic relief aid from the federal government.

Linehan said it’s “not morally acceptable” for the state to hang onto its $412 million surpluses at a time when Nebraska’s emergency fund, known as the cash reserve, holds $997.5 million.

“We have significant funding over and above our needs,” she said.

Even so, lawmakers will likely have disagreements over which taxes to cut. Other senators may want to use the money for other priorities, such as mental health services or additional state aid for K-12 public schools.

The state collects income, sales, and miscellaneous taxes, but local governments rely on property taxes and many property owners have seen large those bills increase sharply over the last decade. Business groups hope to see income tax cuts, while farm advocates want to lower property taxes.

Ricketts will present his priorities and budget proposals in more detail next Thursday during his annual State of the State address, his last one before he leaves office in January 2023.