Taxes

...The poorest-performing states on this year’s individual income tax component are New Jersey, California, New York, Hawaii, and Minnesota....

...It is very tempting for a DOE administrator to think, “There’s no benefit for us if we do all this work because the Legislature needs to fund us anyway...."

...The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument on the proposed constitutional amendment on Thursday, October 18 at 8:45 a.m. at Aliʻiōlani Hale....

...Parents for Public Schools of Hawaii was Founded in 2009 when Hawaii public schools were closed for 17 “Furlough Fridays”....

...Those opposed to the constitutional amendment attending the news conference today stood outside a modest, family-owned walk-up apartment on Date Street, valued at approximately $1.5 million, to draw attention to the type of investment properties that would be impacted by the new tax....

...Tuesday, Oct. 2 from 7 to 8 a.m....

...This law, which we have discussed before, recently has been used to create a “school impact district” that goes from Kalihi to Ala Moana.... 

...The Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a nonprofit taxpayer watchdog organization, together with 14 other organizations, businesses, and individuals, submitted a court filing supporting the Counties’ request that the Hawaii Supreme Court void the ballot measure for school funds....

...Hawaii 4th-worst 'Individual Income Tax'....

...A proposed state “surcharge” on “investment real property” to fund public education could result in county property taxes statewide going up by an average of $21,005....

...advocates of the so-called education tax have been strangely quiet about how much it will be....

...the ballot question doesn’t say anything at all about tax.  Does that make the ballot question misleading or deceptive?....  

...​How High Are State and Local Tax Collections in Your State?....

...the City is giving the exemption to 342 homes and forgoing taxation on $600 million in property value, translating to a revenue loss exceeding $2 million....

...Two public forums have been set to help educate voters....

...For FY 2019, cumulative collections of the GET are up by 0.4% from last fiscal year....

...Hawaii’s sales tax base is broader than economists recommend, applying not just to final consumer products and services, but also to many business-to-business transactions. This results in multiple layers of taxation on the same product or service....

...These days, our General Excise Tax (GET) contains exemptions and reduced rates that are supposed to reflect commercial reality but often contain leaps of faith....

...Hawaii ranks 41st collecting $76 per capita....

...The best laid plans, we are told, often go awry ... “Especially when it comes to politicians counting on revenue from tax hikes.”....

...After amended complaints were filed, the state Office of Elections said the ballot will not have a title....

...How long do you think it takes between buying a home on Kauai and having the “home exemption” effective for real property tax there?....

...Understanding the constitutional amendment questions on the ballot....

...An "education tax" proposal similar to Hawaii's was held back from voters for being vague....

...In Hawaii, we are now looking at one of the most popular of all tax solutions: passing the costs to a nebulous “other.”....

...State should proceed only after making legislative changes....

...To date, HIDOE has collected a combined $4.7 million in school impact fees in Leeward Oahu, West Maui and Central Maui....

...Maybe it’s just a question of semantics....

Back in 2014, we wrote in this space about a nasty Honolulu City & County rule involving real property tax appeals....

...talk of “recovery plans,” new bonds and property tax dollars allocated to rail inevitably raises the spectre of new rail taxes....

... Hawaii gas taxes average $0.4788 per gallon ....

...One good thing is that Hawaii has made its position known early, so that those businesses who choose to compete in our marketplace will know what the rules are....

...how to bring under control the almost $13 billion in unfunded liabilities of Hawaii’s public pension system....

...In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Wayfair v. South Dakota case. It was a huge turning point in constitutional law involving the ability of states to tax “online sellers”....

...Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is releasing a new report that outlines how policymakers could resolve Hawaii’s financially dangerous public pension crisis....

...The defendants, led by a tax preparer and her husband, allegedly attempted to steal over $400,000....

....the possibility of new state-mandated property taxes....

...“To avoid any constitutional concerns, the department will not retroactively administer Act 41....” 

...Hawaii 44th at 0.8%....

...Gov. David Ige has notified legislative leaders and key lawmakers that he is vetoing eight out of 11 bills on his Intent to Veto list....

...PCC will finance systems totaling 413 kilowatts (kw), with flexibility to install additional systems and features. The agreement marks the first commercial on-bill financing project in Hawaii using the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority's recently launched Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$)On-Bill program....

... Hawaii Ranks 27th --Income taxes account for 22.8% of spending ....

...36.9% of State and Local Revenues come from the GE Tax....

...when our Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) was adopted in 1986, vocal and strident opposition from the Neighbor Islands and from the tourist industry was quelled by promises that the TAT would only be needed to fund the convention center....

...This rate decrease reflects the impacts of the recently enacted federal “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”....

...despite Hawaii’s new e-commerce law in anticipation of the court ruling, local tax attorneys caution the state could still face legal challenges in collecting those taxes because of its unique tax structure and what now look like flaws in signed legislation....

...17.6% of State and Local government revenue comes from property taxes in Hawaii....

...The Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by Congressional District....

...general fund tax deposits are up by 8.5% compared with the same period in FY 2017....

...The State of Hawaii is the senior partner in the sin business....