Tax Word Find

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

Happy New Year!  Aloha to the departed 2025 and the 2026 before us!  We start our year with a recap of the year behind us and give you a Word Find puzzle with 26 key words and phrases.

The new Administration in Washington D.C. dominated news early in the year, with EXECUTIVE ORDERS flowing like water over OLO‘UPENA FALLS.  A new Department of Government EFFICIENCY was created to slash the federal budget, together with the powerful Office of MANAGEMENT and Budget, leading to early fears that Hawaii’s state budget would be in JEOPARDY because of direct cuts and TRICKLE-DOWN effects.

Among the low-hanging fruit that OMB sought to pick off were Native Hawaiian BLOCK Grants, which our Department of Hawaiian HOME LANDS is several years behind in spending.  They went from $22 million to ZERO in the federal 2026 budget.  We at the Foundation urged heavier use of federal Supplemental NUTRITION Assistance Program funds before the Feds noticed that we have a large carryover BALANCE there.

In the SQUARE building on Beretania Street, business went on as NORMAL, with budget-OBSCURING special funds being proposed and “BLANKETY BLANK” bills, with ESSENTIAL numbers replaced by blanks, moving through the legislature while perpetuating its culture OF SILENCE.

Also, lawmakers passed a “GREEN Fee” to be used to fund CLIMATE initiatives.  That law extended the TRANSIENT Accommodations Tax to BERTHS on cruise ships giving us yet another way to tax VISITORS even if they just happen to be AFLOAT in our waters.

The cruise ship industry challenged the tax in federal court.  Most of its challenges were THROWN out near the end of the year, but not before the Department of JUSTICE put its BOXING gloves on and entered the ring.  The tax will go into effect, prompting a press release saying that the Attorney General was very pleased, but STORMY SEAS lie ahead for it.

The terms in all capitals in this article can be found in the Word Find 15X15 matrix below.  Words and phrases can be forward, backward, up, down, or diagonal.  And please look carefully at the unused letters, because they contain a message.  Good luck in the New Year!

PDF: Solution Key