Taxes

A report on the top state issues of 2015....

...an analysis of each new special or revolving fund proposed by legislative bills....

...Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled decisively in favor of online travel companies....

...Sand Should Return with Trade Winds....

...0.25 per cent rate, beginning January 1, 2017. Amends the administrative fee for the collection of a county surcharge by the State....

... hundreds of little (and in some cases, not so little) pots of money sprinkled throughout Hawaii's departments, agencies, and other governmental units ....

...Hawaii Appleseed is making solid progress advancing important legislation to benefit low-income people in our state....

This translates to an additional $191.4 million in anticipated revenues to the state general fund for fiscal biennium 2016-17....

...IRS is seeking volunteers to serve on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a federal advisory committee that identifies major taxpayer concerns and makes recommendations for improving IRS service....

In Hawaii a number of us are fascinated with gambling....

...And the poorer you are, the more of your income goes to GE Tax....

During floor session today (March 5th, 2015) after 1:00 PM, House Finance Chair stood up and requested a waiver of the 48-hour requirement to hear an agenda of bills with just one hour of notice....

...a nonpartisan effort to make the state budgeting process accessible to the public by putting state budget facts and figures online, in real time....

The Legislature is considering several bills that would add increases or surcharges to the Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET)....

...the proposed laws could actually increase obesity by increasing poverty....

Also in the H&R Block report is the news that the individual mandate penalty is averaging $172. This is likely to rise in future years....

Under SB358, gas will be taxed more heavily than oil....

...we are exporting around 15%-20% of our general excise tax....

... According to ITEP, payment of sales and excise taxes takes up an average of 11% of family income for the poorest 20% of earners ....

The fasted growing type of pass-through business is the S corporation....

We have good news to share about our fights against unfair taxes and regulation....

...the effect of this bill is to burden the compliant small businesses and owner/operator establishments by creating a system that favors larger rental companies and hotels....

1,515 bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and 1,379 bills were introduced in the Senate – over 400 more bills than were introduced in 2014....

Liabilities everywhere: The rail project, the failing state hospital system, overdue maintenance on state buildings and campuses, underfunded public worker pensions and health insurance, and so much more....

Sales taxes in most states leave rent alone, but our General Excise Tax (GET) taxes it....

Hawaii is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to the citizen tax burden....

Currently, seven states—Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin—are permitted to tax Internet access....

...Small Business Caucus of the Hawaii State Legislature today announced its priority list of bills....

UPDATE: HB1253 has been deferred. SB727 passed with amendments....

House Bill 1240 will bypass the House Committee on Education and is referred solely to the House Committee on Finance....

...HB1307, introduced by Rep Kaniela Ing, raises income taxes on middle class families by 12%....

The President’s budget has a proposed increase in the federal capital gains tax rate....

Here are five Obama tax proposals that make no sense....

...In coming weeks, Hawaii’s Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision....

...A single filer earning Hawaii's median income of $61,408 can expect to pay $4,043.88 in state income taxes, the highest dollar amount of any state, or 6.59% of his income....

Sole proprietorships, S corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs)....

...the state is frequently singled out as having one of the most burdensome tax systems in the nation....

...it is necessary to take bold action and embrace policies that improve the state’s business climate....

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 2:45pm at the Capitol Building, Room 016....

All state income tax systems in the United States, including ours, have a set of rules that are used to figure out which state has the primary right to tax income....

...Correcting this problem and allowing businesses to deduct the full cost in the first year is known as “full expensing”....

...the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has released a report. ranking the states in terms of how progressive their tax systems are....

Monday, Jan 26, 2015, hearing starts at 2:30pm, State Capitol Auditorium

The state has been draining money out of the rail surcharge. Lots of money....

...keeping the Oahu half-percent rail surcharge in place will only encourage lawmakers to increase the surcharge whenever there is a rail transit shortfall....

Hawaii's Effective 13.4% rate of taxation on the poorest 20% is second only to Washington State....

Top concerns include the state economy, education, the Hawaii Health Connector, oversight of the Public Utilities Commission in light of the Hawaiian Electric Industries/NextEra merger, and positively affecting the cost of living for Hawaii residents....