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Entries for 'Tom Yamachika'
Sunday, April 10, 2016 |
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Hawaii Fuel Tax: Schizophrenia in Motion
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3781 Views :: Taxes
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December 31, 2015 not only marked the end of the top Hawaii individual income tax rates, but also of some fuel tax provisions....
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Sunday, April 3, 2016 |
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Low Real Property Tax Is a Bad Thing?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3890 Views :: Taxes
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One of the more interesting bills still alive and being considered this session, is one that would commission a study on the effects of Hawaii’s low real property taxes....
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Sunday, March 27, 2016 |
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Can Illegal TVRs be Taxed?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3348 Views
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...it seems a bit much to ask the brokers to be policemen for the counties ....
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Thursday, March 24, 2016 |
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Lawsuit Dismissed: State’s 10% Rail Tax Skim Stands
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:17 PM :: 5317 Views :: Rail, Taxes
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"Judge Nacino’s ruling doesn’t say that no problem exists, but just says that his court isn’t the one that can fix it”
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Sunday, March 20, 2016 |
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Could You Please Pick Up That Pencil?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3648 Views :: Taxes
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...the Department of Taxation and its customer service, or lack thereof....
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Sunday, March 13, 2016 |
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Regressivity
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4534 Views :: Taxes
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...the lowest 20% of our population pays 13.4% of its income in state and local taxes, while the top 1% pays 7.0%....
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Sunday, March 6, 2016 |
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Tax Conformity: Can We Make It Move?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3866 Views :: Taxes
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In this context, conformity means similarity to the federal tax code....
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Sunday, February 28, 2016 |
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Notice Overkill?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4346 Views :: Taxes
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...This repetitive idiocy can cost lots of taxpayer money very quickly....
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Sunday, February 21, 2016 |
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General Excise Tax at 6%?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4826 Views :: Taxes
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Our Legislature is in full swing now and is actively considering a number of bills that will increase our cost of living in Hawaii....
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Sunday, February 14, 2016 |
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Solving the Online Tax Dodge with Cookies?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5075 Views :: Small Business, Taxes
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Every year, lawmakers seeking to fund their favorite programs or services inevitably ask themselves....
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Sunday, February 7, 2016 |
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GEMS to Cool Classrooms?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 6955 Views :: Education K-12, Energy, Taxes
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Apparently GEMS is an attractive target for raiding because a 2014 bond issue raised $150 million for the program and little, if any, capital has been deployed to date....
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Sunday, January 31, 2016 |
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Gambling on a Hawaiian Tribe
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 9403 Views :: Akaka Bill, DHHL, Gambling, OHA
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...allowing a lottery in Hawaii could open the door to other things....
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Sunday, January 24, 2016 |
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Tax Is for the Birds
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3989 Views :: Taxes
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...he released seven chickens in the revenue office lobby....
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Sunday, January 17, 2016 |
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Buy America! For an extra $3M – this time
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4178 Views :: Rail
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The low bidder for the Kamehameha Highway Stations Group appeared to be Watts Constructors, which bid $112.7 million for the project. The job went to Nan Inc., which bid $115.8 million. Why did that happen?....
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Sunday, January 10, 2016 |
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Unfriendly Skies?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4194 Views :: Taxes
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Serious students of history may wonder what is going on. There is, after all, a federal law that prevents Hawaii taxes from touching an airline’s gross income....
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Sunday, January 3, 2016 |
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Permanent Internet Tax Freedom
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3960 Views :: Taxes
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Hawaii was one of fifteen states that were grandfathered....
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Sunday, December 27, 2015 |
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Delays Upon Delays at DHHL
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5048 Views :: DHHL
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DHHL was listed as having $55 million in federal housing funds awarded for Native Hawaiians but unspent, resulting in HUD suspending additional funding....
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Sunday, December 20, 2015 |
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GEMS: Gets Everyone’s Money Swiftly
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 7167 Views :: Energy, Tax Credits, Taxes
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...our government has forced our utilities to jack up our electric bills to pay for this financing program that, to date, has not been able to underwrite a single kilowatt....
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Sunday, December 13, 2015 |
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An Early Christmas Present from IRS to Heald Students
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4793 Views :: Higher Education, Taxes
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Students often owed $40,000 or more in college loans – holding a degree they claimed was inadequate at best....
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Sunday, December 6, 2015 |
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Please! Spend More!
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4067 Views :: Hawaii State Government
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...Uncle Sam is giving us money. But we are not spending that money so the federal agencies are saying, “Looks like you don’t need this, so why should we give you any more?”....
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Sunday, November 29, 2015 |
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Rail: Thumbing Our Nose at the Feds
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5221 Views :: Rail, Taxes
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...the Honolulu City Council is considering an ordinance to extend the rail tax....
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Sunday, November 22, 2015 |
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Year-End Tax Planning Tips
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4177 Views :: Taxes
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The top rates of 9%, 10%, and 11% go away at the end of 2015. The top rate effective as of the beginning of next year is 8.25%....
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Sunday, November 15, 2015 |
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Working on the Fringe
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5093 Views :: Small Business, Taxes
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“Revisiting the Taxation of Fringe Benefits”
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Sunday, November 8, 2015 |
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The Shaky Future of Bonus Depreciation
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5377 Views :: Small Business, Taxes
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“50% bonus depreciation” is a system where half of the equipment cost can be deducted in the first year it is placed in service....
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Sunday, November 1, 2015 |
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Wonder Blunder Times 3.5
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3902 Views :: Higher Education
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Gib Arnold, former basketball coach at the University of Hawaii, just hit the jackpot....
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Sunday, October 25, 2015 |
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Ten Million Words and Counting
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3890 Views :: Taxes
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...today, the federal tax code is roughly six times as long as it was in 1955, while federal tax regulations are about 2.5 times as long....
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Sunday, October 18, 2015 |
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Taxpayers Also on the Hook for VW Diesel Dupe
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5493 Views :: Environment, Tax Credits
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...the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended an existing green vehicle tax credit to the new breed of diesels....
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Sunday, October 11, 2015 |
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Taking a Homeowner’s Exemption for a Home You Can’t Live In
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3964 Views :: Taxes
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On April 13 this year, Bill 36 was introduced in the Honolulu City Council....
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Sunday, October 4, 2015 |
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Ways to Own a Utility
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4443 Views :: Energy
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...politicians have thrown out alternative ownership models for the transaction....
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Sunday, September 27, 2015 |
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Captive Insurance: The Clean Version
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5143 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Taxes
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...the IRS has added a new item to its “Dirty Dozen,” a list of tax scams....
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Sunday, September 20, 2015 |
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Can We Save the EITC by Making the Form Tougher?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4072 Views :: Tax Credits
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...an "error rate," meaning payouts to people not legally entitled to them, in excess of 20% for the last ten years....
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Sunday, September 13, 2015 |
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Tax Credits: Heads They Win, Tails You Lose
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3924 Views :: Tax Credits
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...weeping, gnashing of teeth, and litigation....
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Sunday, September 6, 2015 |
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What Should We Be Asking of the HECO Merger?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4703 Views :: Energy
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...let’s look at the tax-related conditions that are being proposed....
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Sunday, August 30, 2015 |
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Taxing Digital Goods
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4401 Views :: Taxes
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...taxing authorities have had to undergo serious mental gymnastics to characterize digital products such as streaming video in a way that can be dealt with by their tax regime....
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Sunday, August 23, 2015 |
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IRS, Could You Please Answer the Phone?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4871 Views :: Taxes
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...the Hawaii Department of Taxation was able to answer less than half of the phone calls it received....
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Sunday, August 16, 2015 |
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Penny for Your Thoughts? No? How About 50 Million Then?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5690 Views :: Environment, Tax Credits
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Is that how we steward taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars?
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Sunday, August 9, 2015 |
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Relativity Media: E + mc = 0
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4862 Views :: Tax Credits
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You may remember Relativity Media from its efforts at the Hawaii Legislature in 2011 and 2012....
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Sunday, August 2, 2015 |
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You Can Have That Road, Alphonse…No! You Take It, Gaston!
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5673 Views :: Hawaii History, Hawaii State Government
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...the State and counties aren’t clear on which roads they own....
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Sunday, July 26, 2015 |
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Who’s the Boss, Anyway? (Part 2)
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4508 Views :: Taxes
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...voters had limited the power of its legislature to enact taxing and spending bills, and some legislators sued....
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Sunday, July 19, 2015 |
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Post-Employment Benefits Are King
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5223 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Labor
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The Hawaii Constitution says, “Membership in any employees' retirement system of the State or any political subdivision thereof shall be a contractual relationship, the accrued benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”
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Sunday, July 12, 2015 |
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Clean Energy Equals $418M Tax Hike?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 7905 Views :: Energy, Tax Credits, Taxes
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Our government is supposed to be studying how to produce clean energy, not how to milk the public!
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Sunday, July 5, 2015 |
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And the Lowsman Trophy Goes To…Hawaii!
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4626 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Taxes
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Fortunately, our lawmakers are allowing the three top rates to die a natural death at the end of this year with our highest marginal rate a more modest 8.25%....
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Sunday, June 28, 2015 |
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Independence Means Freedom from Special Funds
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4707 Views :: Taxes
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Special funds are pots of money....
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Sunday, June 21, 2015 |
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Friends Don’t Let Friends Pay Higher Taxes?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3818 Views :: Taxes
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...we don’t want to inflict a disproportionate amount of pain on our friends....
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Sunday, June 14, 2015 |
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Where’s the Tax Stamp on that Eggplant?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6673 Views :: Agriculture, Health Care, Taxes
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...many common vegetables contain nicotine....
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Sunday, June 7, 2015 |
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Whither the Resort Fee?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6184 Views :: Taxes, Tourism
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By adding a resort fee of $25 to a room rate of $125, the hotel brings in $150 per night but it can advertise a $125 room rate....
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Sunday, May 31, 2015 |
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Could You Please Answer the Phone?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4913 Views :: Tax Credits
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...if you are a taxpayer with questions and you call the Hawaii Department of Taxation’s customer service line, there is a more than 50% chance that your call won’t be answered. At all....
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Sunday, May 24, 2015 |
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Unfunded Liabilities – Smoke and Mirrors?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6299 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Labor, Taxes
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...what actually goes into this “unfunded liability” calculation....
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Sunday, May 17, 2015 |
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We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5830 Views :: National News, Taxes
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...three big issues that are holding us back in international competitiveness....
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Sunday, May 10, 2015 |
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Whose Tax Is It, Anyway? (Part 2)
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5030 Views :: Small Business, Taxes
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A double standard on an important issue like this is a great way to breed derision and distrust of government....
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