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Sunday, August 19, 2018
Cashing In on Production Credits
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4255 Views :: Tax Credits

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

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Sunday, August 12, 2018
Weekends Safe from Cackling Lawyers?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5446 Views :: Honolulu County, Ethics, Taxes

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

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Sunday, August 5, 2018
Wayfair – Playing Catch-Up
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5682 Views :: Small Business, 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....

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Sunday, July 29, 2018
The Wayfair Switch in Time
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5076 Views :: Small Business, Taxes

...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”....

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Sunday, July 22, 2018
Who Can We Beat Up with Property Tax?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 4204 Views :: Taxes

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

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Sunday, July 15, 2018
HB2748: $500,000,000 Hole in Budget
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 6229 Views :: Development, Tax Credits

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

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Sunday, July 8, 2018
If You Don’t Rock the Boat, How Do You Change Its Direction?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5132 Views :: First Amendment, Hawaii State Government

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

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Sunday, July 1, 2018
It’s Not Easy Bein’ — an Employer
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5162 Views :: Labor, Small Business

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

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Sunday, June 17, 2018
Can’t You Just Change the Agenda?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5464 Views :: Ethics, Rail

...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....

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Sunday, June 10, 2018
What Does State Constitution Say About Balanced Budget?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5194 Views :: Ethics, Hawaii State Government

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

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Sunday, June 3, 2018
The California Stupidity Fund, Part 2
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5660 Views :: Tax Credits, Taxes

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

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Sunday, May 27, 2018
We Can’t See It or Touch It, But We Can Tax It!
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5468 Views :: Small Business, Taxes

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

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Sunday, May 20, 2018
Finding the Magic Bullet: City’s Share of Rail Administrative Costs
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 6495 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail, Taxes

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

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Sunday, May 13, 2018
​Reactionary Reaction to Resort Fees
By Tom Yamachika @ 4:00 AM :: 5375 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

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

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Sunday, May 6, 2018
Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle…for Our Keiki?
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 5317 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 :: 5258 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 :: 4985 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 :: 5361 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 :: 5182 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 :: 3866 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 :: 4621 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 :: 4242 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 :: 3921 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 :: 6301 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 :: 5900 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 :: 5959 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 :: 4873 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 :: 3994 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 :: 4510 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 :: 3957 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 :: 5107 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 :: 7834 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 :: 4434 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 :: 5241 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 :: 4566 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 :: 4444 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 :: 4875 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 :: 5598 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 :: 5654 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 :: 3996 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 :: 4419 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 :: 8721 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 :: 6182 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 :: 4391 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 :: 5565 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 :: 5295 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 :: 7036 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 :: 5081 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 :: 6904 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 :: 7437 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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