Saturday, December 7, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, April 20, 2023
Proposed ‘green fee’ could end aloha as we know it
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 2:23 PM :: 2885 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

Proposed ‘green fee’ could end aloha as we know it

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. President/CEO Grassroot Institute, April 19, 2023

Certain images come to mind when you hear the words “Hawaii vacation” — think sunsets, luaus and mai tais by the beach.

What doesn’t come to mind is sitting on a beach and being approached by a government agent who wants to see your papers.

But that could become part of the average visitor’s vacation to Hawaii vacation if the Legislature enacts a proposed “visitor impact” fee.

Gov. Josh Green claims the proposed “green fee” will bring in $400 million to fund conservation efforts, and the idea of having visitors pay for environmental programs has a lot of support. There is real debate in Hawaii about the impact of tourism, and the visitor fee plays directly into those concerns.

The proposal has sailed through the Hawaii Legislature, though it also has picked up amendments that have to be worked out before it can pass a final vote.

Under the measure, every visitor to Hawaii over the age of 15 who wants to visit a state park, beach, trail or natural area would have to purchase an annual $50 license.

Seems simple enough. But the idea starts to fall apart when you dig into the details and potential consequences.

The first question is: How do you differentiate a resident from a visitor? The bill says a resident is anyone with a Hawaii ID, or who has paid Hawaii income taxes in the last year, or who can produce local correspondence such as a utility bill or letter from the government.

Ironically, this means that people with second homes in Hawaii can claim to be residents because they can produce a utility bill or government letter. But if you think of yourself as local because your family lives in Hawaii, you grew up in Hawaii and you go back every year for your grandmother’s birthday, you’re out of luck. Even if you were a Native Hawaiian, you’d be a visitor who has to pay the fee.

Then there is the question of whether the visitor fee would survive a legal challenge. The U.S. Supreme Court frowns on taxes that treat nonresidents differently and frowns on laws that inhibit interstate travel.

Supporters claim the proposal would be legal because it effectively would be only a user fee. This is all academic until the proposal’s language is finalized. But this also raises questions about how the state would enforce the license.

For example, not every natural area in Hawaii has a front gate or parking area, so it’s not clear how the state would ensure that tourists pay the fee — especially since the fee would not be added to their airline or hotel bills. The possibility of “tourist police” patrolling the beaches and asking to see visitor licenses could become a civil rights nightmare. It also raises the question of whether residents will have to carry their own documentation.

No wonder that the current draft of the bill would delay enforcement of the license for five years.

Meanwhile, Hawaii’s tourism industry — the state’s largest economic driver — has largely been mum about the fee idea, despite the possible adverse effects it could have. At $50 a person, a family of four would no longer have $200 to spend on souvenirs, eating out, renting snorkeling equipment, whale-watching or taking surfing lessons.

Alternatively, tourists might look for ways to circumvent the fee, shifting from state beaches and parks to locations that don’t require a license.

Or they might avoid Hawaii altogether because they don’t want to spend their holiday in a place that so blatantly categorizes tourists as an inconvenience to be tolerated only for the money.

If Hawaii’s politicians aren’t careful, they might kill the goose that lays the golden egg and transform the state into a divided paradise, where few visitors get to enjoy the full cultural experience of a Hawaii vacation.

This could be the end of “aloha” as we know it.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii