Taxes

... it is doubtful any of Hawaii’s proposed tax increases this year will, if enacted, achieve the goal of increasing state revenues. More likely, they will further damage the economy and prompt even more of our family, friends and neighbors to move away ....

... There are few things more nonsensical than encouraging doctors to leave a state during a pandemic, but that is exactly what the Hawaii State Legislature is doing .... 

“...Confiscation in Paradise: Move to Hawaii, pay the nation’s highest state income-tax rate....”

... the Hawaii Tax Review Commission conducts a systematic review of Hawaii’s tax structure ....

... Hawaii's Legislature is about halfway through its 2021 session, and if we're lucky, the good will outweigh the bad when it's over ....

... The $1.6 billion in federal funds allocated to the State in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides a temporary reprieve for the State's financial crisis. ....

... Lawmakers may impose the highest income tax in the nation on Hawaii residents making over $200,000, and this may be damaging to Hawaii's health system ....

... a kind of crabs-in-the-bucket argument ....

"...It's going to discourage economic growth that has already stalled...."

“...Hawaii: First in taxation, last in affordability....”

... Some states have experienced meaningful revenue declines. But many don’t have losses to offset, so they would have to identify other ways to spend a large infusion of one-time money ....

... SB56 contains so many tax increases it's hard to fathom, yet at the end of the day, only one Hawaii senator opposed it ....

... Senate Bill 56, with the ominous title “Relating to Revenue Generation,” has been granted its first hearing by the Senate Ways and Means Committee ....

... The Hawai'i Legislature may be hard at work, but it looks like common sense is on vacation ....

... The measure allows employers to pay, on average, less than half of what they would otherwise pay into the system ....

... Lawmakers are planning to increase taxes and regulations this year, but there are better ways to help Hawaii's economy prosper ....

... Repeals the allocation of transient accommodations tax revenue to the counties ....

... “I am altering the deal.  Pray I don’t alter it any further.” ....

... many tax increases, fees, and surcharges that have been proposed this legislative session. Hawaii residents are already among the most taxed in the country; the state has the second highest overall tax burden in the U.S. ....

... If policymakers wish to avoid imposing taxes on these small business lifelines  they need to act quickly, as tax deadlines are fast approaching ....

... to cost the State at least $19,000,000,000 ....

... every proposal in the 2021 Legislature that would increase Hawaii's tax burden ....

... We need to start recognizing that this “dedicated funding source” rhetoric is taking us down the wrong path ....

... When it comes to budgets and accounting, politicians have successfully convinced voters that the ordinary rules of fiscal accountability shouldn’t apply to government ....

... A 2012 study at Cornell University found that, when faced with a new soda tax, many households reduced their soda consumption while purchasing an increased amount of beer ....

... Hold on to your wallets, folks, because this year’s great legislative adventure has just begun! ....

... increasing Hawaii's tax burden at a time when its economy is in its worst depression ever ....

... tax-related bills pending at the Legislature, including legalizing gambling, new conveyance taxes, new rental vehicle taxes, new carbon taxes, new proposed constitutional amendment ....

... 23.3% of Hawaii tax collections come from income taxes ....

... General Excise and Use Tax (GET) collections are down by 21.8% from last fiscal year ....

... Hawaii Corporate Income tax tops out at 6.4% .... 

"... At the Legislature, committee hearings have begun in earnest and it doesn’t seem at all like we are in an economic crisis ...."

... It is naturally hard to say no to an ex-tweeker who, at Bishop Estate, achieved the kind of things most Honolulu politicians can only dream of ....

... Ige must sign a bill into law before March in order to prevent automatic assessment increases from being triggered ....

... lawmakers' plans to tax the economy could hurt struggling residents and businesses recovering from the depression ....

... Our unemployment system, as of January 8, 2021, has paid out $3.4 billion in unemployment benefits ....

... new tax bills, sometimes dressed up as “surcharges,” “fees” or “closing loopholes” ....

... 36.7% of State revenue comes from GE Tax ....

... ILWU, Teamsters, IATSE, UFCW ....

... Hawaii's economy is on the ropes right now, but that hasn't stopped some legislators from going all in with new tax-increase proposals ....

... Ige’s Chief of Staff and former Director of Taxation Linda Chu Takayama told the House Finance Committee a little more about the revenue enhancement measures (tax hikes) that the Administration is going to propose ....

... “the carbon tax” is most likely the “barrel tax” ....

... that $2 billion in “savings” is going to end up costing the taxpayers almost four times as much in the long term ....

... There is still a lot of real estate between $0.3 billion and $1.4 billion a year ....

... This week, we got our first real glimpse of Gov. David Ige’s proposed budget. ...

... Barabara Marumoto, architect of the state's legal spending cap, continues to believe Hawaii needs better budgeting practices ....

... if your festivities still include popping a bottle of bubbly, the champagne you toast with will be taxed ....

... Governor being coy in new budget about tax increases totaling $1 billion ....

... Developments during this COVID crisis have brought out tax scofflaws in some of the most unexpected ways ....

... the only two things that are certain in life are debt and taxes ....