Taxes

...The economic boom of the last few years allowed them to continue spending at high levels, and many of them would like to keep it that way....

...In 2005, the Legislature provided the land conservation program with a dedicated funding source – ten percent of conveyance tax collected...here's what happened next....

... Perhaps most notable are the increases in the general excise tax on Kauai and Hawaii Island ....

...DLNR needs to understand that the money in these funds isn’t “their” money. It’s taxpayer money....

...If enacted, the carbon tax would be the fifth special tax imposed on fuel....

...the question posed to voters must be clear and neither misleading nor deceptive....

...The Cato Institute has released its 14th biennial fiscal report card on the governors....

...Hawaii is spending $4.5 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 32.9 percent of the $13.7 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....

...We continue with our series about a timeshare association suing Maui County seeking to invalidate its “Time Share” property classification, with the county then striking back.... 

... Hawaii ranks 44th in USA ....

...We continue with our series about a timeshare association suing the county, with the county then back assessing the association for $10 million.... 

...Timeshare association sues county; county then back assesses association for $10 million.... 

...Establishes a creepy DC-based "Carbon Dividend Trust Fund" that seeks a backdoor two-child limit on families....

...Any carbon-pricing mechanism should be “adequate to change behavior.”  The commission had considered asking that it be “practical” as well, but Sen. Karl Rhoads convinced the members that was a bad idea….

...Keli'i Akina and Joe Kent discuss the latest research by the Grassroot Institute on rail, vacation rentals and the unfunded liabilty of Hawaii's public pension system....

...a long and hotly litigated property tax case from Maui....

...Businessman convicted of tax fraud has Guam, Micronesia deals....

...Hawaii has 12 brackets, the most of any state, followed by California and Missouri, each with 10....

...but income tax is up 12.4% and TAT is up 16.7%....

...For a long time, I was wondering what the authors of 07-001 were smoking....

Many Hawaii taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief after the state Supreme Court on Oct. 19 voided a ballot question that would’ve allowed the state to raise taxes....

...Hawaii has a graduated-rate income tax but doubles its brackets to avoid a marriage penalty....

...a case now pending in the Hawaii Supreme Court that may give us some insight on county real property taxes and their limits....

...a prior Hawaii Supreme Court case, Cieri v. Leticia Query Realty, 80 Haw. 54 (1995), said, “[R]eal estate is, particularly in Hawai`i, both scarce and expensive. As a result, the purchase of real estate or a residence likely is the largest ‘investment’ a person in Hawai`i may make in a lifetime.”....

...Ranking Property Taxes on the 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index....

...It’s time to open a real dialogue in our state and work together to find real and lasting solutions for education....

...The executive committee voted unanimously to continue its commitment to address issues of concern to the people of Hawaii, starting with public education....

...another provision that was passed by the 1978 Constitutional Convention to assure our fiscal health—and what our lawmakers have done to marginalize it....

...the lambs (the voters and taxpayers) didn't have much of a say as usual, and portions of the arguments revealed what these folks think about the intelligence of the average Hawaii voter....

...HSTA members should note that their leadership has been played for the fools that they are....

...even a Hawaii Supreme Court Justice isn’t sure who is supposed to pay....

...only Washington State taxes the poor more than Hawaii....

... There was laughter heard from the audience ....

...Hawaii 24th....

...law professor Randall Roth and entrepreneur Stanley Lau are leading a community movement that says the measure will actually hurt teachers and our school children....

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

...The poorest-performing states on this year’s individual income tax component are New Jersey, California, New York, Hawaii, and Minnesota....

...It is very tempting for a DOE administrator to think, “There’s no benefit for us if we do all this work because the Legislature needs to fund us anyway...."

...The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument on the proposed constitutional amendment on Thursday, October 18 at 8:45 a.m. at Aliʻiōlani Hale....

...Parents for Public Schools of Hawaii was Founded in 2009 when Hawaii public schools were closed for 17 “Furlough Fridays”....

...Those opposed to the constitutional amendment attending the news conference today stood outside a modest, family-owned walk-up apartment on Date Street, valued at approximately $1.5 million, to draw attention to the type of investment properties that would be impacted by the new tax....

...Tuesday, Oct. 2 from 7 to 8 a.m....

...This law, which we have discussed before, recently has been used to create a “school impact district” that goes from Kalihi to Ala Moana.... 

...The Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a nonprofit taxpayer watchdog organization, together with 14 other organizations, businesses, and individuals, submitted a court filing supporting the Counties’ request that the Hawaii Supreme Court void the ballot measure for school funds....

...Hawaii 4th-worst 'Individual Income Tax'....

...A proposed state “surcharge” on “investment real property” to fund public education could result in county property taxes statewide going up by an average of $21,005....

...advocates of the so-called education tax have been strangely quiet about how much it will be....

...the ballot question doesn’t say anything at all about tax.  Does that make the ballot question misleading or deceptive?....  

...​How High Are State and Local Tax Collections in Your State?....

...the City is giving the exemption to 342 homes and forgoing taxation on $600 million in property value, translating to a revenue loss exceeding $2 million....