Taxes

Hotel occupancy taxes also appear to eat into the budget tourists set for their vacation trips. Such an effect was empirically observed in Hawaii in 2013....

...the state’s redemption rate decreased from 72.6 percent in fiscal year 2014 to 68.4 percent in the last fiscal year, which ended in June 2015....

Hawaii 45.1 cents per gallon, plus federal 18.4 excise tax, plus GE Tax....

...fuel taxes are "highly regressive," meaning that they hurt the poor the most....

The excise tax is an investment by the taxpayers of Hawai‘i and my job is to ensure that their hard earned money is being spent efficiently, effectively and productively....

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....

Hawaii taxes many products multiple times and, by one estimate, ultimately taxes 99.21 percent of the state's personal income....

Today’s map shows how spirit excise taxes in your state compare....

Fortunately, our lawmakers are allowing the three top rates to die a natural death at the end of this year with our highest marginal rate a more modest 8.25%....

...Senate Minority Budget Director Paul Harleman about the current economic status of Hawaii and his concerns for the state's future financial stability....

Ige has informed the Hawai‘i State Legislature of his intent to veto the following bills....

Special funds are pots of money....

Check out today’s map below to see where your state lies on the wine tax spectrum....

...we don’t want to inflict a disproportionate amount of pain on our friends....

...many common vegetables contain nicotine....

...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....

Hawaii collects $2,088 per person....

The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act now goes to the Senate....

Organization presents comprehensive policy platform to lower aviation taxes, promote airline competition and fix air travel infrastructure in coming FAA reauthorization....

By adding a resort fee of $25 to a room rate of $125, the hotel brings in $150 per night but it can advertise a $125 room rate....

...state and local combined individual income tax collections per person....

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy released the annual 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study, a comprehensive analysis of effective property tax rates in each state’s largest city....

...what actually goes into this “unfunded liability” calculation....

“...taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than labor and raw materials combined....”

...three big issues that are holding us back in international competitiveness....

A double standard on an important issue like this is a great way to breed derision and distrust of government....

...Estate and inheritance taxes have large compliance costs, have been shown to suppress entrepreneurship, and are among the most harmful taxes to economic growth....

Senate 21-4 : House 39-12

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

A few days ago, the United States Tax Court decided a case that is important to small business owners....

Watch HART try to pitch a Property Tax hike in order to make the GE tax seem palatable....

"While tobacco use among Hawaii’s public middle and high school students has declined over the past decade, e-cigarette use has been increasing rapidly."

Perhaps the largest expenses these operators are forbidden from deducting under § 280E are the excise taxes and license fees they pay to the state....

...HB321, SD2 proposes a 15% gross proceeds tax and a 10% special sales tax on so-called 'medical' marijuana sold in Hawaii....

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....

A new 50-state study, Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy....

HB145 has quite a history. It started as a bill to limit the tobacco tax on large cigars to 50 cents per cigar....

This year’s edition of the Index pulls together 23 different tax measures....

Many states have a graduated system — the most complicated one is Hawaii....

...three states have ten or more tax brackets, led by Hawaii with twelve....

Senators Russell Ruderman, Glenn Wakai, Lee Ihara, Mike Gabbard and Gilbert Keith-Agaran voted in the affirmative but with reservations.  A no vote at this stage serves to exclude the person voting no from participating in the Conference Committee....

HB134 will be voted on this Tuesday - 4/14 - in the State Senate....

...we are getting closer to a resolution on the two bills that are seeking to extend the life of the 0.5% Oahu county surcharge on our general excise tax....

The only way to contain costs is to force HART to live within its current means....