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Entries for 'Tom Yamachika'

Sunday, May 6, 2018
Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle…for Our Keiki?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4766 Views :: Education K-12, Taxes

...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....

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Sunday, April 29, 2018
HB2432: The Tax Office Said So, So It Must Be True!
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4650 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

...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....

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Sunday, April 22, 2018
Mighty Morphin Power Bills!
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4458 Views :: Ethics, Taxes

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

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Sunday, April 15, 2018
220% Conveyance Tax Hike: HB207 Gut n Replace
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4853 Views :: Ethics, Taxes

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

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Sunday, April 8, 2018
Can Government Avoid Its Responsibilities with LLCs?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4598 Views :: Ethics, OHA

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

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Sunday, April 1, 2018
Financial Planning for a $200M Per Year Deficit?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 3363 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, March 25, 2018
The California Stupidity Fund
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4183 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, March 18, 2018
An Opportunity for Opportunity Zones
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 3846 Views :: Tax Credits

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

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Sunday, March 11, 2018
Groundhog Day in the Hawaii Senate
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 3450 Views :: Taxes

... “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....”

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Sunday, March 4, 2018
By the Way, Could We Have $50 Million More?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5562 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Taxes, Tourism

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

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Sunday, February 25, 2018
Teachers Union Grabs for Billion Dollar Slush Fund
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5247 Views :: Education K-12, Taxes

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

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Sunday, February 18, 2018
Trump Tax In Hawaii?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5354 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Taxes

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

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Sunday, February 11, 2018
​The Value of a Refundable Credit
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 4359 Views :: Tax Credits

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

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Sunday, February 4, 2018
How Much Does a Crosswalk Cost?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 3550 Views :: Hawaii State Government

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

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Sunday, January 28, 2018
Oops! DoTax Math Error!
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 4032 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, January 21, 2018
Small Business Tax Cut: Will Hawaii Legislature Conform?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 3488 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, January 14, 2018
Trump Tax: Will Hawaii Legislature Conform?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 4652 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, January 7, 2018
GEMS Takes One on the Chin from the PUC
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 7026 Views :: Energy, Tax Credits, Taxes

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

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Sunday, December 31, 2017
What’s a Carbon Tax?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 4006 Views :: Taxes

...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....

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Sunday, December 24, 2017
2018 Ballot: Constitutional Convention?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 4730 Views :: Hawaii State Government

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

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Sunday, December 17, 2017
Gamers of the World Unite: You have nothing to lose but your micro-transactions
By Tom Yamachika @ 12:17 PM :: 4075 Views :: Gambling

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

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Sunday, December 10, 2017
Voluntary Additional Tax?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 3871 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, December 3, 2017
The Tax Administration Slush Fund
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 4339 Views :: Ethics, Taxes

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

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Sunday, November 26, 2017
DOTAX Litigation: Are Car Rentals “Tourism Related Services”?
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 5027 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

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

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Sunday, November 19, 2017
DoTax: No End to Litigation, Part 2
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5025 Views :: Judiciary, Taxes

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

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Sunday, November 12, 2017
Department of Taxation Customer Service – Don’t’ Be a Victim
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3603 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, November 5, 2017
A DOTax Nightmare: No End to Litigation
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:01 AM :: 3944 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, October 29, 2017
Should Surfrider be Licensed to Pass Out Property Tax Exemptions?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 7840 Views :: Environment, Ethics, Small Business, Tax Credits

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

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Sunday, October 22, 2017
DoTax Leaves Fewer Callers in the Dust
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5458 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Hawaii Statistics, Taxes

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

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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Incentives for Retirement Savings
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3951 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, October 8, 2017
If You're Still Paying Use Tax on Amazon Purchases--Stop
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5068 Views :: Taxes

...those who buy things from Amazon and have been paying Use Tax can stop....

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Sunday, October 1, 2017
Fritz v. Department of Taxation, and Why You Should Care
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4696 Views :: Ethics, Taxes

Over the past several months, there has been a court fight brewing that could have changed how the Department of Taxation lobbies for legislation....

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Sunday, September 24, 2017
Harbors Division Soaking the Taxpayer – Again and Again
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6338 Views :: Jones Act, OHA, Small Business

...the Harbors Division isn’t satisfied with three years of triple-digit increases....

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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Legislature with U R Missing
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4597 Views :: Ethics, Hawaii State Government

...there is "supposed to be" opportunity for participation....

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Sunday, September 10, 2017
Rail: Heads We Win, Tails You Lose
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6254 Views :: Rail, Taxes

...The special session rail bill, SB 4, provides that if the Foundation wins and the State is ordered to refund money to the City, then the State will scoop the same amount of money from the City’s share of transient accommodations tax....

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Sunday, September 3, 2017
Rail:  I Dunno About TAT
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6718 Views :: Rail, Taxes, Tourism

...The TAT, when it was enacted in 1986, was primarily meant to fund the Hawaii Convention Center....

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Sunday, August 27, 2017
Honolulu: For 1000s Property Tax Rate Will Quadruple Sept 1
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 7058 Views :: Honolulu County, Taxes

...People who aren’t aware of what happened may find themselves with property tax bills many times what they are now....

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Sunday, August 20, 2017
The Grand Skim of Things, Part 3
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5251 Views :: DHHL, Hawaii State Government

 ...one State department that has funds with no exemption, and refuses to pay it: the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL).... 

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Sunday, August 13, 2017
The Grand Skim of Things, Part 2
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3957 Views :: Hawaii State Government

...the Central Services Skim has redirected about $45 million a year from the special funds to the state general fund....

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Sunday, August 6, 2017
The Grand Skim of Things (Part 1)
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 6330 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Rail, Taxes

...A Hawaii law dating back to 1955, which now can be found at HRS section 36-27, says that 5% of any special fund’s income will be paid to the state general fund to pay “central service expenses....”

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Sunday, July 30, 2017
No Hanahana -- Kaukau Anyway
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5471 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Taxes

...if you don’t work, you don’t eat....

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Sunday, July 23, 2017
EITC: Devil in the Details
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 3969 Views :: Taxes

On July 10, 2017, Governor Ige proudly signed House Bill 209, a bill that establishes a Hawaii earned income tax credit.... 

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Sunday, July 16, 2017
How Rail Bonds Can Help Put Local Politicians in Jail
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5350 Views :: Ethics, Rail

...City officials were accused of certifying financial statements in 2002 and 2003 that were false because they failed to disclose that the city was purposely underfunding....

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Sunday, July 9, 2017
Mucking Around in the Past?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 4691 Views :: Ethics, Rail

...HART stunned critics by cancelling a special audit that would have examined past cost overruns....

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Sunday, July 2, 2017
Carving Up the Price of Car Rentals
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5091 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

One of the legislative bills that is now being considered by Gov. David Ige is a curious bill, HB 735, involving the car rental industry.... 

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Sunday, June 25, 2017
Anatomy of Epic Fail on Rail
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:01 AM :: 5066 Views :: Rail, Taxes

To what or whom should we be looking for leadership to get us out of this mess?

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Sunday, June 18, 2017
Closing an Estate Tax Loophole?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:05 AM :: 4133 Views :: Taxes
...this bill seems like a knee-jerk reaction....
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Sunday, June 11, 2017
Reaching Back into the Past
By Tom Yamachika @ 12:01 AM :: 3343 Views :: Taxes

...retroactive tax legislation....

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Sunday, June 4, 2017
Human Casualties at the Legislature, Part 2
By Tom Yamachika @ 11:31 PM :: 7296 Views :: Energy, Ethics, Hawaii State Government

...fifteen senators wanted to stick their thumbs in the Governor’s eye....

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Sunday, May 28, 2017
Human Casualties at the Legislature
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:09 AM :: 5647 Views :: Ethics, Hawaii State Government

...If there is a position taken by a committee chair on one bill or one issue that is not reflecting the wishes of the committee, why can't the committee simply reject the chair's recommendation?....

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