Taxes

... staffers from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii in attendance at Gov. Josh Green's recent bill-signing ceremonies for historic tax cuts and housing reform ....

... House Finance was persuaded to resurrect SB 1035.  It then went to Conference Committee, and it came up with a version that both houses then passed ....

... Despite the bill's timidity, passage of the bill was still a welcome move .... 

... In a deep-blue bastion where seldom is heard a peep of pushback against tax hikes, Hawaii legislators surprised everybody last month by unanimously approving a bill that is being heralded as the biggest tax cut in state history ....

... Akina said HB2404 will incrementally provide Hawaii taxpayers with the biggest income tax cut in state history ....

... It was mostly a good year for Hawaii at the 2024 Legislature, and policy experts from Grassroot will explain how that came to be ....

... passing the biggest income tax cut in state history ....

... The County Council actually improved on a tax cut proposed by Mayor Roth, but neither version gives a break to industrial or commercial properties ....

... a $3.49 million tax increase on hotels and resorts and a $4.15 million increase on vacation rentals ....

... secret instructions from the Director of Taxation to his staff ....

... One of the most persistent myths in Hawaii politics is that you can target a single group with a tax hike and not affect anyone else ....

... huge wins in the areas of taxes, healthcare and housing reform ....

... HB2404 will lower the state income tax burden for average families by almost 70% by 2031 and save taxpayers roughly $5 billion during that same period ....

... This year, the Legislature finally listened to their pleas and passed SB1035 ....

... DoTax claims Administrative Directives are for “Internal Use” and are not to be disclosed to the public ....

... Most of the targeted savings would come from the operating budget of the city’s Department of Information Technology ....

... Resolution 24-61 would set the property tax rates for fiscal year 2025 ....

... there is still plenty of work to be done to reduce the cost of living in Hawaii ....

... legislators earmark $1 billion to cover costs such as emergency housing and rental assistance ....

... a significant tax reform which has been long overdue ....

... Akina said “the tax cuts are gonna be huge in terms of keeping money in the pockets of people starting next year” .... 

... nonprofit hospitals are exempt from the GET, but small physician practices and clinics are not ....

... rate would increase by 82% for B&Bs worth $3 million or more ....

... Get inside scoop at upcoming events on how good bills managed to prevail ....

... “Good riddance!” ....

... The best news to come out of it was that our lawmakers passed a major income tax-relief bill, HB2404, which Gov. Josh Green is almost certain to sign because it was part of his much-touted "Green Affordability Plan." ....

"... ALICE families will experience firsthand one of the biggest tax cuts in the State’s history ...."

... exempts hospitals, infirmaries, medical clinics, health care facilities, pharmacies, and medical and dental providers from General Excise Tax (GET) on goods or services that are reimbursed through Medicaid, Medicare, or TRICARE ....

... At the end of this month, the Legislature wraps up and we see what gets sent to Gov. Green’s desk for signature or veto ....

... at least five bills strongly supported by my colleagues and I at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii were passed out of conference committees and now will go for final votes at the House and Senate floor sessions ....

... Resolution 24-78 would set property tax rates for the coming year ....

... County officials are seeking significant property tax increases while doing virtually nothing to cut spending or spend wisely ....

... the GET makes practicing in Hawaii so financially challenging, causing many Hawaii doctors to retire or move away ....

... I became convinced that the proceedings, or at least this part of them, were prearranged ....

... Tax hikes would burden average Maui homeowners the most ....

“...if you look through the bill, it’s a bunch of blank spaces. It says conveyance taxes will increase by blank percent. Or short-term rental taxes are gonna have a blank percent tax on them....”

... ThinkTech has fallen victim to a phenomenon that has plagued many nonprofits including the Tax Foundation of Hawaii:  a drop in donor funding ....

... the state’s estate or “death” tax can force their heirs of local businesses to sell off the assets of their companies ....

... Here are the top videos that were posted in March ....

... highlights, frustrations at 2024 Legislature ....

... Comerford said his 45 years of living in Hawaii and 25 years of being a business owner are likely to end due to a recent state decision to collect taxes on federal Restaurant Revitalization Funds received during the COVID-19 lockdowns ....

... Gov. Josh Green addressed the tax and migration issues in his policy brief issued last month. One of his solutions is indexing the state's income tax for inflation, he said ....

... TABOR, a constitutional amendment approved by Colorado voters in 1992, limits the growth of government by limiting tax increases ....

... This is an issue here in Hawaii because our individual income tax rates can go up to 11%, second highest in the nation ....

... more than 500 companies with commercial use permits from the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), began collecting one dollar from each passenger or customer ....

... Overall Tax Burden 11.80% ....

... HB 1675: GET exemption for medical services paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE ....

...When government is finally saying it is the problem, it’s on the right track to finding a solution....

... outmigration since 2020 has resulted in the loss of $185 million in general excise taxes and state income taxes, or approximately $61.8 million per year ....

... some bills replace a current tax rate with a blank.  Or several blanks.  Those are scary because you don’t know what our lawmakers are thinking of putting in there ....