TAX MAN: Whether DOE should have a monopoly on our kids
Over the last several years, we have been saying plenty about the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE), and not all of it has been peachy. We’ve talked about DOE fighting with other agencies regarding getting kids to school in Kihei.
TAX MAN: A different kind of emergency in government
According to Kali Watson, director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), we have a new emergency in Hawaii state government. But it’s probably not the kind you’re used to.
TAX MAN: When it comes to taxes California is taking no prisoners
“Lucky you live Hawai‘i,” goes the famous phrase. Sometimes it’s really true, as we recently found out from our good friends in the California Taxpayers Association, publishers of the Caltaxletter.
TAX MAN: Getting kids to school in Kihei
Let’s start with a simple proposition. Taxpayers pay our government to get things done. Taxpayers don’t pay our government agencies to fight each other so that nothing gets done.
TAX MAN: Honolulu ready to study empty homes tax again
One concept that has popped up again, more often than the little animals in a Whack-a-Mole game, is the prospect of an “Empty Homes Tax.”
TAX MAN: How not to cool the schools in the Aloha State
Imagine Hawai‘i’s keiki sitting in hot classrooms. That has been an issue for our public schools for many years, with then-Governor Ige signing several bills, such as Act 47 of 2016 that appropriated $100 million toward heat abatement upgrades, and Act 260 of 2022 that appropriated another $10 million.
TAX MAN: Gov. Green has signed the budget, now what?
On June 30, Gov. Green hosted a signing ceremony on the fifth floor of the Capitol where he dutifully put pen to paper and signed into law the state budget, House Bill 300, and the tax credit bill, House Bill 954.
TAX MAN: Gov. Josh Green’s 2023 intent to veto list
On June 23, Gov. Green issued his intent to veto list. Any bill that is now pending before him and not on the list will become law. Any bill that is on the list may or not be vetoed; the Governor has until July 11 to make a final decision.
TAX MAN: Economic misfortune can fix our ‘shadow budget’
In recent weeks, we have been reporting on Hawai‘i’s “shadow budget.” We found out that a first responders’ campus in central O‘ahu, even when a bill to create it was stomped on, shaken violently, and killed in the House, could still be funded via the State’s budget bill due to some behind-the-scenes machinations involving the powerful chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
TAX MAN: Cesspools — Hawai‘i’s dirty problem
We’ve long had a dirty problem here in Hawaii. A number of homes here are not serviced by a sewer system. Instead, waste goes into a cesspool in the ground, and every so often the homeowner calls up a friendly neighborhood pumping service to pump it out and get rid of the contents.
TAX MAN: Senator Kurt Fevella’s film feud at Hawai‘i Capitol
On Wednesday, May 31st, there was a press conference held at the State Capitol regarding the Hawai‘i movie and TV production tax credit. Two of the main speakers were Kevin Holu of Hawai‘i Teamsters Local 996 and Senator Kurt Fevella (R, District 20). Hawai‘i News Now shared footage of the event.
TAX MAN: Hawai‘i’s shadow budget giveth and taketh away
Recently there has been criticism heaped on the Supreme Court of the United Sates for making very important rulings via a “shadow docket” consisting of motions for various kinds of emergency relief. Those rulings are typically made on the papers alone, without the benefit of oral argument, and normally do not contain discussion of the precedents or the reasoning in the “normal” opinions of the Court.
TAX MAN: General excise tax on health care
One of the bills in this past legislative session that fell to the cutting room floor when it probably shouldn’t have was Senate Bill 1035, which would have exempted medical services provided by health care providers if the services were paid for by Medicaid, Medicare, or TRICARE (the healthcare system for the uniformed services).
TAX MAN: There is more than one rainy day slush fund
Many of us in Hawai‘i are aware that we have an Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund, enshrined in chapter 328L, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, to save money for a “rainy day,” that is to say, an emergency. In the most recent legislative session, the state budget bill provides for an additional one billion dollars to be socked away into that fund, $500 million a year.
TAX MAN: Ding dong, the Hawai‘i Green Fee is dead
Environmentalists are bemoaning the apparent demise of the “Visitor Green Fee,” a $50 charge that would need to be paid by whoever, as a nonresident, wants to visit parks, beaches, scenic sites, and other places of natural beauty.
TAX MAN: Legislature determines tax relief not to be
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Yorick was the court jester who had become a skull by the time Ophelia’s burial takes place and Hamlet talks about him.
TAX MAN: Production credit hijinx in the Legislature
For a long time, Hawai‘i has had income tax incentives to encourage television, movies, and other productions to work their magic here in Hawai‘i.
TAX MAN: A look at TANF hoarding continues in Hawai‘i
About a year ago, we tried to shine the spotlight on a federal program for families and children called TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
TAX MAN: At the Legislature, it isn’t over until it’s over
We’ve come to that part of our legislative session where all the public hearings are done.
TAX MAN: Hope for Governor Green’s tax relief still alive
In the fast-paced, chaotic world that is the Hawaii Legislature this time of year, it is difficult to make any predictions about anything.