Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, October 27, 2016
Grassroot Backs Suit Against 10% Rail Skim
By Grassroot Institute @ 4:39 PM :: 5148 Views :: Rail, Taxes

Grassroot Institute Files Amicus Motion in Rail Appeal

Watchdog group says state has broken public's trust in government by skimming from surcharge

News Release from Grassroot Institute

HONOLULU, HAWAII -- (Oct. 27, 2016) --  On October 18, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii filed a motion to allow it to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii’s lawsuit against the state of Hawaii. The Tax Foundation brought the suit to challenge the Hawaii Department of Taxation's practice of keeping a full 10% of the rail surcharge for the costs of administering the tax, despite the fact that the law directs DOTAX to calculate how much is required for its management of the surcharge and return the remainder to the rail project.

"The state has acted with a deplorable lack of transparency in its administration of the rail surcharge," stated Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President of the Grassroot Institute. "This is even more problematic when one considers that taxpayers have been told it might be necessary to extend or increase the surcharge in order to complete the rail project."

Nowhere is it suggested that the Department of Taxation requires the full 10% fee in order to fulfill its duties. In fact, the Tax Foundation has demonstrated that the amount kept by DOTAX every year to administer the surcharge equals or exceeds the entire annual DOTAX budget.

A lower court ruled against the Tax Foundation, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction because this was a controversy related to taxes. However, the case is now before the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. The Grassroot Institute argues that this is not about the right to collect taxes, but rather a matter of misallocation of the funds. Moreover, because the state has made it clear that it lacks the political interest or ability to address the issue, citizens are the only ones left to hold the state accountable.

Michael A. Lilly, a former Hawai`i Attorney General who filed the motion, said that "Grassroot’s amicus brief will present arguments not advanced by other parties to the suit. The issue on appeal the Tax Foundation, as a taxpayer, has a right to challenge the State taking the entire 10% of the GET surcharge.  It should because, for political or other reasons, no government entity is willing to challenge the State’s conduct.  Although the state is supposed to only take an amount equal its cost of collection, for several years it exceeded the entire budget of the state’s Department of Taxation."

"In essence, the Department of Taxation has been skimming funds from the rail surcharge for years," stated Dr. Akina. "With the problems that already beset rail, to learn that there are untold millions of dollars that have been siphoned off by DOTAX is a gross violation of the public trust. Every dollar that was taken from the wallets of the taxpayers to pay for rail should be going to that project."

Dr. Akina continued: "To make matters worse, DOTAX claims that they can't account for what they spent because they never tracked the cost of administering the surcharge. This suggests not just a lack of transparency but also mismanagement or even political chicanery. We hope that the legislature takes the necessary lesson from this fiasco and orders full audits for both the rail project and the Department of Taxation."

###

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT