It’s not often that State lawmakers express their justification for imposing taxes in terms other than “We need the money to fund essential services and programs.” But how about this? The following language is from an actual bill: “The legislature … Read More
Do you recognize any of these names: Hiʻilei Aloha LLC, Hiʻipaka LLC, and Hoʻokele Pono LLC? For one thing, all of them have “LLC” in their names. LLC is an abbreviation for Limited Liability Company. A LLC is a legal … Read More
A recent news release from the Hawaii State Senate Majority Caucus says: The State Senate has drafted, discussed, and voted on SB508, SB2415, SB2484, SB2489, SB2699, and SB2821 that are projected to generate approximately $72 million in revenues based on … Read More
One of the changes that was made in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which applies to our federal tax returns for this year, is a limitation on deductions for state and local tax. Simply put, you can … Read More
Dear Governor Ige: Whatever you may think of President Trump and the Republican-dominated Congress, they have thrown an opportunity our way, and you need to take action very soon—by March 21, 2018, to be exact—to take advantage of it. The … Read More
You may remember Groundhog Day, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray. In it, Murray played a Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, PA, found himself caught in a time loop, repeating … Read More
Our Legislature is now in session, and one of the big functions of the money committees – the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Finance – is to balance the state budget. The Governor submits … Read More
One of the bills making its way through our legislative system this session is one that would create a special fund for public education, and then funnel to that fund twenty-five percent of all the money that our General Excise … Read More
One of the more visible tax issues that our lawmakers will be thinking about this session is how to adapt the new federal tax law changes, sometimes called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and what we have been calling … Read More
In the 2017 legislative session, our legislature passed an earned income tax credit (EITC), which its supporters maintain is the best solution to lift families out of poverty since sliced bread. At the Department of Taxation‘s urging, however, the EITC … Read More