Taxes

...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....

...how to bring under control the almost $13 billion in unfunded liabilities of Hawaii’s public pension system....

...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”....

...Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is releasing a new report that outlines how policymakers could resolve Hawaii’s financially dangerous public pension crisis....

...The defendants, led by a tax preparer and her husband, allegedly attempted to steal over $400,000....

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

...“To avoid any constitutional concerns, the department will not retroactively administer Act 41....” 

...Hawaii 44th at 0.8%....

...Gov. David Ige has notified legislative leaders and key lawmakers that he is vetoing eight out of 11 bills on his Intent to Veto list....

...PCC will finance systems totaling 413 kilowatts (kw), with flexibility to install additional systems and features. The agreement marks the first commercial on-bill financing project in Hawaii using the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority's recently launched Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$)On-Bill program....

... Hawaii Ranks 27th --Income taxes account for 22.8% of spending ....

...36.9% of State and Local Revenues come from the GE Tax....

...when our Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) was adopted in 1986, vocal and strident opposition from the Neighbor Islands and from the tourist industry was quelled by promises that the TAT would only be needed to fund the convention center....

...This rate decrease reflects the impacts of the recently enacted federal “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”....

...despite Hawaii’s new e-commerce law in anticipation of the court ruling, local tax attorneys caution the state could still face legal challenges in collecting those taxes because of its unique tax structure and what now look like flaws in signed legislation....

...17.6% of State and Local government revenue comes from property taxes in Hawaii....

...The Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by Congressional District....

...general fund tax deposits are up by 8.5% compared with the same period in FY 2017....

...The State of Hawaii is the senior partner in the sin business....

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

...Caldwell in 2017, amended the plastic bag ban ordinance to require businesses to charge a minimum 15 cent fee per bag starting July 1, 2018....

...DoTAX today issued a Tax Announcement describing various forms of relief that are available to taxpayers who are affected by the disaster....

...Hawaii income taxes 10th-highest in USA....

...somebody's gotta stop this Schatz guy from tweeting....

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

...Pew's analysis compares state tax receipts from when the Great Recession began in December 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2017....

...$0.93 per gallon....

...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)....

...Average Per Capita Property Taxes: How Does Your State Compare?....

...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....

...Saiki said that after passing last year’s rail tax hike, he feels like “the Legislature can do anything.”....

...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....

...​HSTA Slush Fund Unlimited Tax Increases in Your Future....

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

...Over the past 15 years, the people of Hawaii have paid 260% more for electricity than the US average, while gasoline prices consistently hover close to $1-per-gallon higher.  (But we can go even higher)....

...In the latest edition of “Rich States, Poor States,” Hawaii ranked 45th overall. One of the biggest reasons for that low ranking was Hawaii’s high level of taxation....

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

...At a time when many advocates of education reform are promoting greater local involvement in schools, Hawaii appears to be moving in the opposite direction....

...the sales tax bases in Hawaii, New Mexico, and South Dakota are incredibly broad, so it’s not surprising that they would tax these types of transactions....

...last year Hawaii Tax Freedom Day was April 19....

...only New York State is higher....

...Recently, states have moved away from these taxes or raised the exemption levels....

...where do taxpayers get the least bang for their buck?....

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

...projected to increase overall after-tax income in every quintile of taxpayers....

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

...Spending would increase by $114.8 million, or 16.3%, over current period....

...For years, it was conventional wisdom that as tax-happy as the Hawaii Legislature might be, it still would avoid raising taxes in an election year....

...The State Senate has drafted, discussed, and voted on SB508, SB2415, SB2484, SB2489, SB2699, and SB2821 that are projected to generate approximately $72 million in revenues....