Entries for 'Tom Yamachika'

...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....

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

...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....

...These days, our General Excise Tax (GET) contains exemptions and reduced rates that are supposed to reflect commercial reality but often contain leaps of faith....

...How long do you think it takes between buying a home on Kauai and having the “home exemption” effective for real property tax there?....

...Maybe it’s just a question of semantics....

...48 productions registered for the credit, with estimated qualified expenditures north of $268 million in exchange for $55 million in tax credits....

Back in 2014, we wrote in this space about a nasty Honolulu City & County rule involving real property tax appeals....

...One good thing is that Hawaii has made its position known early, so that those businesses who choose to compete in our marketplace will know what the rules are....

...In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Wayfair v. South Dakota case. It was a huge turning point in constitutional law involving the ability of states to tax “online sellers”....

....the possibility of new state-mandated property taxes....

... $200 million, or most of it, is headed out the door with no visible means of getting it back.....

...When many of us in Hawaii grew up, we were taught to go with the flow....

...Before I hire the worker, I need to comply with laws saying what I can and can’t ask the prospective employee....

...Recently, State Auditor Les Kondo shocked the public and some Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board members when he charged, at a HART board meeting, that HART employees had been required to record all interviews with State Auditor personnel....

...here is a question for you....

...Now, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury have indicated that they are going to weigh in....

...HB 2416 applies Hawaii Use Tax to intangible property....

...In a recent hearing in the Honolulu City Council’s Budget Committee, council leaders say that they might have found a “magic bullet”....

...SB 2699 proposes to make “resort fees” subject to our Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT)....

...The amendment, if approved by the voters, does not define what investment real property is. Nor does it contain any limitations on the taxing power. Almost all the details are left up to the state legislature....

...HB 2432, one of the bills actively being considered this session, proposes to hike the “transient occupancy tax,” or TOT, by an as-yet-unspecified amount....

...lots of surprises as lawmakers press forward....

...The Feds Gave You a Break? Now We, the State, Can Turn the Screws!....

... Can you say 'ankle shackles?' ....

...why do we have a current state financial plan that spends more than $200 million every year over available revenues?....

...California is now trying to enact a workaround, and some Hawaii lawmakers are actively considering similar legislation....

...Ige needs to take action by March 21, 2018 to take advantage of "qualified opportunity zones"....

... “It wasn’t that long ago that I was before this same committee testifying on a very similar bill on the very same tax provision, seeking to do the very same thing....”

...In the middle of this process, sometimes a letter from the Governor arrives saying, “We need to make some adjustments...."

...Do the problems in our classrooms have anything to do with special funds at all?....

...how to adapt the new federal tax law changes to Hawaii....

...In the 2017 legislative session, our legislature passed an earned income tax credit (EITC)....

...Senate Bill 2004, tells the story of just one signalized crosswalk yet to be built....

...“math error authority” brings to mind one of the failings in Hawaii’s tax system....

...lawmakers will be asked to conform our Hawaii income tax law to the federal changes that have taken place in 2017....

...If they don’t, it will be functionally the same as raising taxes....

...the PUC has basically said that it expects the program to crash and burn....

...Recently, the Hawaii Tax Review Commission’s primary consultant, PFM Group, issued a final report to the Commission asking it to review many taxing alternatives, including a $360M per year “carbon tax” on Hawaii consumers....

...The biggest exception to this gatekeeper rule is the constitutional convention, where the people elect delegates directly....

...looking to introduce legislation to combat predatory practices by game publishers. He called Star Wars: Battlefront II, an “online casino...."

...This will give Warren Buffett et al a chance to “walk the walk” and pay millions more....

...the Tax Administration Special Fund is becoming an all-purpose slush fund for which corrective action is needed....

Should they re-evaluate their tax filings now that the Department’s litigation position is out in the public for all to see?

...The Department apparently regards the taxpayers here as lower life forms and wants to give them no respect.... 

“I object to the use of the word ‘customer.’ It certainly doesn’t feel like that type of relationship to me. Maybe ‘hostage’?”

Halloween may be over, but we still have lots of scary stories!

...Recently, the Honolulu City Council approved on first reading Bill 80 (2017), which would award a real property tax exemption to “ocean-friendly restaurants.”...

...Did DOTAX Turn the Corner on Customer Service?....

...During the past few months, the Tax Review Commission has been busy at work....