• Vacation rental tax will end up costing jobs • Tourism and smart meters • Airport accountability • Food truck prices Vacation rental tax will end up costing jobs A word about the transient rental tax collection issues that is circulating
• Vacation rental tax will end up costing jobs • Tourism and smart meters • Airport accountability • Food truck prices
Vacation rental tax will end up costing jobs
A word about the transient rental tax collection issues that is circulating in state government right now.
Please be aware that if this bill is passed, a very large number of locals who work for the owners of vacation rentals will lose their jobs, as well as the handymen that make necessary repairs if the owners are forced to hire a management company to manage their vacation rentals as the management company will bring in their own employees.
Most vacation owners collect the required state taxes and forward them to the state as required.
The majority should not be penalized by the acts of the minority. This is an enforcement of existing law issue, not a legislative one.
Where is the Department of Taxation? If someone chooses not to pay their federal income tax, the IRS will come pay you a visit.
If a few are not paying their GET and TAT taxes, why is the Department of Taxation not making them?
If the state is losing as many millions as they say they are, there is enough money there to create an enforcement division and collect this money.
This bill, if passed, will hurt more local people than you can imagine.
I understand the need for the state to get as much tax revenue as they can, but not at the expense of the beautiful people of Hawai‘i.
There aren’t that many available jobs for locals right now. Don’t take away the ones they do have.
Mike Martin, Koloa
Tourism and smart meters
I overheard a lady say, “I love this place, but I’m not going to visit here anymore, let alone live here. I know about smart meters, and I don’t want to get cancer because I wanted to take a vacation somewhere. I’m not going anywhere where they have smart meters.”
I wonder how many other tourist are having these same thoughts.
It would seem these smart meters will have a negative effect on tourism and construction — tourism being the ‘taro’ of the island.
Osmond Portefore, Kapa‘a
Airport accountability
The actions of a few employees at Lihu‘e Airport certainly do not reflect the actions of those employees who do care for the island visitors and share “love and appreciation” for coming to our island.
However, the actions of the few that do display uncaring recklessness and vulgarity must be dealt with expeditiously.
Accountability and responsibility start with management and trainers.
Once an employee is trained and released to the general public, the term “power over others” or “above all” enters and — here lies many of the underlying outcomes of what is known today as “no aloha.”
The suggestive actions to take: termination. Jobs are in high demand everywhere.
There should no problem in maintaining a recruiting list of personnel.
My dear and respected good friend from Kekaha who happens to be kupuna would say, “Action is louder than words.” There you go.
Terminate and see what happens when paychecks stop coming..
I traveled and slept on airport terminal floors throughout the Mainland and never encountered any sort of despicable display like Lihu‘e airport security personnel.
Enough already?
We’ve got bigger issues to deal with.
Jimmy Torio, Anahola
Food truck prices
Food trucks are known and famous for large portions of ono grindz (delicious food) at very reasonable prices.
Food trucks do not have the overhead of a conventional restaurant.
Therefore one would think the savings in overhead would be passed onto the consumer, as I have witnessed on O‘ahu and many other places.
Every food truck I have visited on Kaua‘i is priced way too high with humble portions of food.
There’s a relatively new food truck I cruise by every day. However, after looking at the menu, it was the same old story, expensive prices.
The only thing that looked reasonable was the kid’s menu; however, you must be 12 or under. Isn’t that discrimination?
The icing on the cake is the audacity to have a mayonnaise jar on their counter in sloppy handwriting that says “TIPS.”
My only tip to these food trucks is lower your prices, serve larger portions and think volume or go out of business trying to get five star prices in a fast food environment.
James “Kimo” Rosen, Kapa‘a
