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 … Read More
Many of us in Hawaii are aware that we have an Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund, enshrined in chapter 328L, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to save money for a “rainy day,” that is to say, an emergency. In the most recent … Read More
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. Most of … Read More
“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him [well].” 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. This legislative session, the same fate has befallen … Read More
For a long time, Hawaii has had income tax incentives to encourage television, movies, and other productions to work their magic here in Hawaii. The production credit was enacted in 1988, at which time it was 4% of regular production … Read More
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. That program provides assistance for struggling families and children – but not directly. The federal … Read More
Once in a while we invite our members to check out relevant scholarship authored by nonprofits. Here is one worth the read: “Transforming the Internal Revenue Service” by Joseph Bishop-Henchman (who used to lead the state tax side of the … Read More
We’ve come to that part of our legislative session where all the public hearings are done. From here on out, lawmakers in the House will be chatting with their counterparts in the Senate to hash out any differences between their … Read More
In the fast-paced, chaotic world that is the Hawaii Legislature this time of year, it is difficult to make any predictions about anything. But there seems to be a glimmer of hope that some pieces of the Governor’s income tax … Read More
In the sports world, we have “March Madness.” Last week in this space, we wrote about “Credit Madness.” Now, lest we miss the forest for the trees, let’s discuss madness at the Legislature in general. A month ago, Civil Beat … Read More