Taxes

...We reviewed 85 house and senate bills proposing 64 special and revolving funds during the 2018 legislative session of which none met criteria....

...In the middle of this process, sometimes a letter from the Governor arrives saying, “We need to make some adjustments...."

...Democrat media unanimous: 'Nothing to see here'....

...Hawaii Annual Taxes on Home Priced at State Median Value -- $1,459 (33rd–highest)....

...Do the problems in our classrooms have anything to do with special funds at all?....

...Hawaii General sales tax collections per capita: $2,090 (the highest in USA)....

...how to adapt the new federal tax law changes to Hawaii....

...and, by one estimate, ultimately taxes 105.08 percent of the state’s personal income....

...A bill proposed in the Hawaii Legislature would ban the use of plastic straws. But the problem runs much deeper than the straw bill....

...nine meetings set for Feb 12-19th, 2018....

...Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax. Rates range from 3 percent in North Carolina to 12 percent in Iowa....

... Study shows Democrats have become party of the rich ....

....more money and less accountability....

...elected officials raised taxes to pay for Honolulu County’s rail system while indicating their intention to conduct an in-depth, forensic audit of the over-budget, behind-schedule megaproject....

...“math error authority” brings to mind one of the failings in Hawaii’s tax system....

...these three health-related taxes would have taken $31.25 billion over the ten-year period from 2018 to 2027....

...Connecticut and New York share the highest tax rate with $4.35 per pack, trailed by Rhode Island ($4.25), Massachusetts ($3.51), and Hawaii ($3.20)....

...lawmakers will be asked to conform our Hawaii income tax law to the federal changes that have taken place in 2017....

...adds e-liquid to the definition of “tobacco products”, which would make all provisions of the cigarette tax and tobacco tax law that relate to tobacco products applicable to e-liquid....

... whether they’re full-time fishers or “weekend warriors” ....

...If they don’t, it will be functionally the same as raising taxes....

..."This means there are way more than suspected filers actually paying their transient accommodation taxes than originally estimated"....

...State and federal taxes are included in the base electric rate and with a lower federal tax, the tax rate imbedded in the bill will be reduced....

...the PUC has basically said that it expects the program to crash and burn....

...look for the following bills to be revived in the 2018 legislative session....

...This ‘consensus’ of disbelief is proven by the massive investment in sea-level construction of Kakaako condos and Honolulu Rail.... 

...Recently, the Hawaii Tax Review Commission’s primary consultant, PFM Group, issued a final report to the Commission asking it to review many taxing alternatives, including a $360M per year “carbon tax” on Hawaii consumers....

...this could make Hawaii and other high-tax states less competitive for their wealthiest earners, since those residents will be less able to deduct the high local taxes....

...This week, an actress did something almost unheard of. She apologized for spreading misinformation about the new tax law....

...State tax law changes impacting businesses and individuals....

...the new tax plan will impact Hawai‘i by adding 1,518 new jobs and predicts a $793 after-tax income increase for middle-income families....

...Hokama also asked Thom Williams, executive director of the ERS, if the debt would still be owed if the county went bankrupt....

...Hawaii’s entrenched state and county bureaucracies delaying the advance of high technology into their own operations....

...To help provide a sense of how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would impact real taxpayers, we’ve run the taxes of eight example households....

...$4,540 a year in tax revenue per resident....

...This will give Warren Buffett et al a chance to “walk the walk” and pay millions more....

...Takayama has served as the director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) since April 2015. She will assume her new position on Monday, Dec. 11....

...the Tax Administration Special Fund is becoming an all-purpose slush fund for which corrective action is needed....

Should they re-evaluate their tax filings now that the Department’s litigation position is out in the public for all to see?

...This report evaluates twelve publicly released agreements that Airbnb has entered with state or local governments....

...The Department apparently regards the taxpayers here as lower life forms and wants to give them no respect.... 

There’s a lot of news out there about the tax bills before the Congress, and nearly all of it is confusing....

...Review of Special Funds, Revolving Funds, Trust Funds, and Trust Accounts of the Department of Taxation....

...The increase in family incomes is the result of both the income tax cuts and the broader rise in productivity and wages due to economic growth....

“I object to the use of the word ‘customer.’ It certainly doesn’t feel like that type of relationship to me. Maybe ‘hostage’?”

Halloween may be over, but we still have lots of scary stories!

...repeals the state and local tax deduction for income and sales taxes and caps the SALT deduction for property taxes at $10,000. The home mortgage interest is grandfathered in and preserved for new homes up to $500,000....

Hawaii’s tax and public pension systems will be put under the microscope at a series of three free panel discussions hosted by Hawaii Rep. Andria Tupola, on Thursday, Nov. 2....

...Hawaii dropped from 11th for 2017 to 14th for 2018....

...In Proposed Settlement, IRS Admits Wrongdoing, Apologizes for Targeting Tea Party and Conservative Groups....