Tax Credits

The Act 221 High-Tech Tax Credit Scam, abolished in 2010, still cost Hawaii $38.4M four years later....

...THE FILM TAX CREDIT is set to sunset at the end of 2018....

Health insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces (also called exchanges) are expected to increase faster in 2017 than in previous years....

...the tax credit program boosted California’s economy only minimally, if at all....

After Hawaii’s lucrative net metering program ended last October, the solar industry in the state lost about 450 jobs. Total employment now is just above 600....

... We will give you $3K to write a grant for $70K you can use to scoop the $500K....

Do you have acting skills? Can you pretend to be a Tech Entrepreneur?  UH has some money to give you....

$3,273,533 in funding from two grant programs to 13 Hawaii companies to help support development of new products....

"...The content of the CD1 stunned us; it was passed without a single public hearing.  There clearly was no justification....”

"...the specs of the stages aren’t enough to shoot a porn...."

And the 'fortunate sons' of John F Kerry and Joe Biden are involved, too....

Taxpayers in Hawaii spend about $1.8 billion on education every year....

"specialty crafted gourmet cookies made on Maui"

... How many high-tech tax credit scams must we suffer before legislators and the governor shut off the flow of taxpayer dollars? ....

Renewable fuel proponents took another shot this year at enacting a renewable fuels credit....

...most of those “savings” are coming from taxpayers pockets....

Few policies have enjoyed as much bipartisan support as the EITC....

...Hawaii fails to provide any information at all on recipients of key subsidy programs....

The poll results also show that Hawaiʻi residents are highly concerned about the state’s high cost of housing....

"...innovation-oriented projects that improve the living standards of Hawaii residents...." LOL!

Hawaii's Green Energy Market Securitization program (GEMS) financed with $145 million in bonds....

...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....

Rep. Pitts is building momentum within Congress to reform this archaic depression-era corporate welfare package....

The map shows the average amount of EITC taken per tax return in every county in America....

No.  This is not satire....

...the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended an existing green vehicle tax credit to the new breed of diesels....

The Aloha State, one of Kiplinger's top ten least tax-friendly states, is known for its high cost of living....

...an "error rate," meaning payouts to people not legally entitled to them, in excess of 20% for the last ten years....

...weeping, gnashing of teeth, and litigation....

...in 2012, we reported that the State had issued and was responsible for reimbursing nearly $1 billion in tax credits; however, approximately three years later, we found that this obligation has nearly doubled, to almost $2 billion....

Hawaii's tax structure is 2nd-worst in the US for labor-intensive manufacturing....

Excepting heavily incentivized research and development (R&D) operations, mature firms generally experience above-average tax costs in Hawaii....

You may remember Relativity Media from its efforts at the Hawaii Legislature in 2011 and 2012....

The primary mover behind Relativity's failed "Accelerator Package"--Senate Ways and Means Chair David Ige....

...the threat of losing NEM has led some in the PV industry down the path of hyperbole, exaggeration and self-interested fear-mongering....

originally published May, 2005, reprinted in honor of Al Hee being found guilty on all counts....

On July 9, Governor Ige signed Senate Bill 555, which will increase the food/excise tax credit for the first time in nearly a decade....

...federal subsidies to wind power do not create investment out of nowhere; they simply distort the relative cost of producing wind energy, shifting investments from other sectors of the economy to wind projects....

...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....

In 2012, we found that after nearly 40 years of existence, NELHA had yet to live up to its creators’ vision....

...Total federal income tax breaks from 2008 through 2012: $4.2 billion....

...77 separate contributions by Navatek or by employees linked to Navatek made to elected officials totaling $81,000....

...Consumers pay for electricity twice: once through monthly electricity bills and a second time through taxes that finance subsidies for inefficient wind and other energy producers....

Hawaii levies the second highest tax burden in the country on its low-income families. A major reason for this is the General Excise tax....