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. … Read More
“Friends! Romans! Countrymen! We desperately need to lift our public schools and our namesake university into the 21st Century. Senate Bill 1474 will do this by a teensy little increase of half a percent to our general excise tax (“GET”), … Read More
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. Here … Read More
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. Under conventional welfare rules, applicants for public assistance are awarded assistance based on need, which means that … Read More
Well, it looks like the Hawaii State Watch Doggie has woken up from his nap. A: Hey! Keeping watch is hard work! Q: Undoubtedly. So what are you reading there? It looks like an Auditor’s report — “Review of Special Funds, … Read More
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. Let’s start with the revenue raisers. SB 1373 … Read More
This year, our legislature once again is poised to consider revenue raising – namely, taxes in new and creative ways. For a different perspective on the issue, we’re asking the Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie, who has been going through … Read More
Pending tax bills. Now that the session has opened, we will discuss the tax bills that are or may be pending in this session, and their provisions, sponsors and prospects. The host for this episode is Jay Fidell. The guest … Read More
Recently, we have heard the term “congestion pricing” bandied about as a way of improving traffic congestion here, and of raising more money. What is it? Congestion pricing is a way of charging motorists for driving in designated areas during … Read More
In a budget briefing at the legislature at about this time last year, Department of Education officials reported that their backlog of repair and maintenance jobs was $293 million, and they were patting themselves on the back because it was … Read More