Across the four counties, it’s the economy, stupid
“It’s the economy, stupid,” is a catchphrase made famous by Bill Clinton when he ran for president in 1992 and won.
HI-5: The leakage hasn’t stopped yet
Just three months ago, the Hawaii State Auditor released the latest in a series of reports over the years on the Hawaii Deposit Beverage Container Program, known as HI-5.
DOE, please fork over that general ledger
The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie’s son has come home from school, and today he has a few more questions than usual.
Shining a bright light on state revenue estimates
At the Legislature, I often hear legislators considering proposed tax legislation ask our state Department of Taxation (DOTAX) how much money a certain proposal would bring in (if it’s a “revenue-raiser”) or cost (if it’s a tax credit or exemption).
The ‘rail skim’ lawsuit: We lost the battle, taxpayers won the war
A long time ago, in October 2015 to be more precise, the Tax Foundation of Hawaii sued the state. Why? Because at the time, the state was skimming 10 cents off every dollar that was being collected for rail, and it plopped the money into the state’s general fund, where it was spent on everything but rail.
Gut-n-Replace 2019
This week we’ll discuss a couple of examples from this legislative session of the controversial but commonly used technique called “Gut and Replace” where a bill is amended so much that it looks nothing like its former self.
‘Tension’ continues between lawmakers, judges
When we learn about our three branches of government, we’re usually told that the legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch carries them out, and the judiciary branch interprets them. Each branch serves as a check and balance on the other two.
The cost of carbon credits rises and falls
Today I have some help from the Hawaii State Watch Doggie’s wife, who is a passionate researcher. Those who know them know who’s the brains in their family!
OHA’s LLCs: The noose is tightening, with legislation, court action
Our Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) formed some limited liability companies (LLCs) a while ago and dropped significant assets into them, including some 1,875 acres in Waimea Valley on Oahu that were conveyed to Hi‘ipaka LLC in 2007.
HIDOE achieves success with ‘job order contracting’
We’ve written a lot about the Hawaii State Watch Doggie.
Blankety Blank, this is some whopper of a bill
The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. This is the city: Honolulu, Hawaii. I live here. I’m a doggie. The suspect is Blankety Blank.
Revenue-raisers already sent to the governor
We’ve previously warned that our Legislature has a dogged focus on new taxes — “ARF! Don’t make fun of me like that!”
Judgments aren’t necessarily the end of litigation
Several online travel companies engaged in protracted litigation against the state Department of Taxation over whether and to what extent they are liable for Hawaii general excise and transient accommodations taxes on hotel accommodations that they sold to third parties on their respective platforms.
Post those tax returns, darn it!
One of the more debate-worthy bills at our Legislature (Senate Bill 94) involves requiring candidates for president and vice president of the United States to post their tax returns on the Internet.
Blank the amount, defect the date
If you’re following bills as they move through our legislature, there are a couple of practices that we need you to know about. Often, committee chairs will refer to one or both of these practices when they move bills forward.
We can spare half a penny for education
“Friends! Romans! Countrymen! We desperately need to lift our public schools and our namesake university into the 21st century.
Beware of state nuances with tax software
Well, we’re in the thick of tax season! It’s that time of year when individuals, gritting and gnashing their teeth, scour through their financial records and begin the arduous process of completing their 2018 federal and state tax returns.
Individual development accounts, version 2.0
Individual development accounts, a program that seems to be gaining traction at our Legislature, is a way to help lower-income people build self-sufficiency.
Squirreling away money at the Department of Transportation
Well, it looks like the Hawaii State Watch Doggie has woken up from his nap.
Creativity abounds at our Legislature, part 2
This week, we are continuing our coverage of creative tax-related bills at our Legislature. The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie is taking a nap at the moment, so I’ll continue without him.