TAX MAN: Yes, people move because of excessive taxes
This week, we focus on a study that has just come out of the national Tax Foundation (with whom the Tax Foundation of Hawaii shares a name but not much else). That study looks at IRS and census data to see if tax considerations affect people’s decisions to move from one state and to another.
TAXMAN: State financial condition still dismal
Here in Hawaii, we have weathered a major pandemic. The primary driver of our economy is, and has been for a long time, tourism
TAX MAN: Words about our love-hate relationship with ‘P3s’
Our state has a love-hate relationship with public-private partnerships (P3). P3s are where public (government) interests and funds partner with private companies to cooperate and share risks and benefits.
TAX MAN: Three years to spend $600 million
Our Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is charged with administering about 200,000 acres of public lands that are to be leased to Native Hawaiians.
TAX MAN: Our kids are going away
We at the Foundation have been warning lawmakers for several years now that our state has been losing people. News media and some local nonprofits have been trying to find out why. The people leaving have said that they are unable to make ends meet here between the high cost of living and taxes.
TAX MAN: Rolling with a road usage charge
As many of you already know, the Hawaii Department of Transportation has been studying implementation of a Road Usage Charge (RUC).
TAX MAN: Blame for the housing crisis isn’t what you’d think
It’s been no secret that housing costs are astronomical here in Hawaii (even if you aren’t the TMT observatory). It’s been a tougher problem to determine why this is so, and then try to find solutions.
TAX MAN: No. 1 in the world — in tourist taxes
Last month, the website money.co.uk published an article giving our Honolulu a claim to international fame (or infamy).
TAX MAN: Dept. of Education welcomes two new $190K hires
On Thursday, August 18, the state Board of Education voted to create two new deputy superintendent positions, at least until the next legislative session when permanent funding can be asked for, setting their base salaries at $190,000, and hiring two named individuals to fill the positions. All in one fell swoop.
TAX MAN: Can we sack the GET?
Every so often a question comes up from some alert readers. “The Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) is regressive, meaning it falls hardest on the poor.
TAX MAN: A GET exemption for food eyed by candidates
There has been a lot of talk these days about possibly adding a General Excise Tax (GET) exemption for food and medicine.
TAX MAN: Addressing the tax crisis in health care
It’s been obvious for some time that there is a physician crisis here in Hawaii. Simply put, we don’t have enough doctors here. The ones we do have are moving away, and most of the medical school graduates are opting to stay away from here.
TAX MAN: We need an emergency declaration for health care
Last week, I ranted and raved about our COVID-19 emergency proclamations, more than 20 of them, that finally ended on March 25, 2022. Now we see in the news that the Healthcare Association of Hawaii wants the Governor to declare a state of emergency once again.
TAX MAN: With long COVID comes long emergency powers
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as readers of this column may recall, our Governor exercised emergency powers, including suspending a gaggle of laws, for two full years. It started with the first emergency proclamation on March 4, 2020, which lasted for 60 days, the maximum allowed under the emergency powers statute.
TAX MAN: Balance between showing visitors aloha and treating them like cattle
A couple of weeks ago, we raised the question of whether lawmakers are looking at businesses and taxpayers as cows to be milked as opposed to constituents to serve.
TAX MAN: Is it possible, permissible for the state to tax itself?
The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie came to me with an unusual question.
TAX MAN: It’s the economy, and Hawai‘i’s is ranked near the bottom
These days, there are tons and tons of new items keeping our minds occupied – from the Johnny Depp trial to the January 6 hearings to the demise of Roe v. Wade. As our primary and general elections edge ever closer, however, there are a few long-term concepts that we as voters should be top of mind as well.
TAX MAN: Maui No Ka $$, has $1 billion county budget
Maui, our Valley Isle, has been on the move lately. It recently passed a budget, its largest ever, where it proposes to spend more than $1 billion in this fiscal year. This, by the way, is a 26% increase over last fiscal year’s budget of $844 million.
TAX MAN: We’ve got bills – lots of them
Sometimes we wonder just how lucky we are to live in Hawai‘i. We all know it’s a pricey place, but sometimes it takes raw statistics to drive that point home.
TAX MAN: General excise tax on nonprofits
Many of us have had the chance to work with nonprofit associations, either as a board member, volunteer or paid staff. It isn’t clear to many people how our tax laws, specifically our GET, apply to these associations, so I am presenting a simplified guide to how the GET works.