Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Sunday, September 30, 2018
Guess Which Agency Can Impose State Tax?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6977 Views :: Education K-12, Development, Taxes, Cost of Living

Guess Which Agency Can Impose State Tax?

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

Lots of the controversy swirling around the ballot measure seeking to impose a “surcharge” on investment property to support public education involves our Department of Education (DOE). The DOE currently receives an appropriation from the State’s General Fund of about $2 billion and is also able to pull from other funding sources such as federal funds.

But did you know that the DOE can also impose tax?

The Hawaii Revised Statutes contains twelve sections relating to “school impact fees,” starting with section 302A-1601. The law states, in part, “New residential developments within identified school impact districts create additional demand for public school facilities. As such, once school impact districts are identified, new residential developments shall be required to contribute toward the construction of new or expansion of existing public school facilities.”

Builders of large projects within school impact districts are required to provide land for school facilities depending on the numbers of students expected in their projects and the amount of available classroom space in existing area schools. Smaller developers and individual home owner-builders are required to pay a fee instead of land, when their project is too small to entertain a school site. All home builders or buyers must pay a construction cost fee.

This law, which we have discussed before, recently has been used to create a “school impact district” that goes from Kalihi to Ala Moana. It’s defined as the areas served by the following elementary schools: Fern, Kalihi Kai, KalihiWaena, Linapuni and Puuhale in the Farrington Complex; and Kaahumanu, Kaiulani, Kauluwela, Likelike and Royal in the McKinley Complex. Yes, the impact district “tracks” the path of the new Honolulu rail line, pardon the pun.

In a news release, the DOE announced that the fee, which goes into effect on October 1, will be $3,864 per unit.

That fee is considerably cheaper than the $9,374 proposed two years ago, but it’s not chicken feed by any means. Multiplying the current fee by the 39,000 additional dwelling units that the DOE is anticipating yields more than $150 million, many times more than the $4.7 million in school impact fees it has collected to date for districts in Leeward Oahu, West Maui and Central Maui.

These fees, of course, are going to have to be paid by someone. If you think they are all paid by wealthy, fat cat developers who are going to be swimming in money because of the transient oriented development, think again. These costs get passed along to home buyers or renters, in one form or another.

According to its audited financial statements for fiscal 2017, our DOE’s total revenues were $2.915 billion and total expenses were $2.817 billion. A recent Star-Advertiser article (Aug. 19, 2018) raises questions about whether the DOE is entitled to tens of millions more in federal reimbursements (and we will write about this next week). And, of course, it is the only state agency with independent taxing power.

Let’s now turn our attention to making sure that all entitled revenues are being properly claimed and those billions of dollars are being spent efficiently and wisely.

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