Entries for 'Tom Yamachika'

...No, that isn’t a cuss word. It’s just the facts, ma’am....

...our legislature has a dogged focus on new taxes....

...Before the ink was dry on those judgments, the Department of Taxation produced additional assessments against the taxpayers, this time on car rental commissions....

...if we think it’s such a great idea, why don’t we apply it to state executives, judges, or legislators?....

"...Despite the rejection of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, our efforts were key in the legislature’s decision to drop the skim from 10% to 1% during the 2017 Special Session—this was a win for all taxpayers in this State...."

"SB 1474 Senate Draft 2 that proposes an increase in the GET now specifies '__ per cent or $ _____'"

...what we really need to do is fix the inefficiency....

...individuals, gritting and gnashing their teeth, scour through their financial records and begin the arduous process.... 

...If an eligible person deposits money into the account, a sponsor such as a government agency matches the deposit....

...The auditor found that they have lots of money lying around. More than $120 million in accounts that haven’t been even touched for five years....

...creative tax-related bills at our legislature....

...This year, our legislature once again is poised to consider revenue raising – namely, taxes in new and creative ways....

...Recently, we have heard the term “congestion pricing” bandied about as a way of improving traffic congestion here, and of raising more money....

...In a budget briefing at the legislature at about this time last year, Department of Education officials reported that their backlog of repair and maintenance jobs was $293 million, and they were patting themselves on the back because it was a significant drop from the $392 million reported in 2010....

...Today, we examine “zero-based budgeting,” an idea that has been around for a while but was recently championed by House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke....  

... the agencies are supposed to come up with a “variance report” that is supposed to list how much they were budgeted, how much was spent, and a narrative explanation for any significant difference ....

...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....

...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.... 

...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.... 

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

...These companies received cash and property, including 1,600+ acres of land in Waimea Valley, from OHA....

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

...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.”....

...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 saga of this credit tells us a little about a bold move undertaken in the 1978 Constitutional Convention and our lawmakers’ reaction....

...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...."

...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....

...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)....