ThinkTech Hawaii: Stealth Taxes in 2022 (Talking Tax)

Taxes You Don’t See.

The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika.

The Tax Foundation of Hawaii tries to follow and report on bills proposing new taxes. They follow any bill that mentions taxes, or affects the tax codes. But that’s not enough.

Lawmakers can be very crafty and propose things that don’t look like taxes.

Here are some examples. HB 2399, for example, establishes an “Extended Producer Responsibility Program” that is designed to slap a “fee” on anyone who imports or sells “fast-moving consumer goods,” which means anything non-durable like food or drink. The Department of Health is tasked with administering the program.

Senate Bill 3040, sponsored by the Department of Accounting and General Services, deals with state procurement, namely where the State buys goods and services from other businesses. The bill directs the state procurement administrator to procure and administer automated procurement systems, and then collect a transaction fee from all vendors using those systems.