During this period of emergency and with our State facing revenue shortfalls of Brobdingnagian proportions, the State Auditor has been busy at work trying to find options for legislators to consider for getting the state budget back on track. In … Read More
Previously in this space, we spoke of various laws that were suspended by the Governor’s emergency proclamations. In a press release on March 17, 2020, entitled “Democracy Still Matters in Time of Pandemic,” the watchdog group Common Cause Hawaii pointed … Read More
In an article in this space just a couple of weeks ago, we growled and grumbled about the possibility that our Governor, having already suspended laws and chapters in the Hawaii Revised Statutes in a listing seventeen pages long, would … Read More
Here we are, still amid the COVID-19 emergency, and there appears to be some confusion over what laws still apply. The Governor and Mayors have put out orders using emergency authority, and the Governor has suspended many laws. We need … Read More
“Governor Ige has emergency powers,” one alert reader said. “Can he raise our taxes by himself?” The answer appears to be “no, but.” The Governor’s emergency powers relating to enforcement of existing laws are in Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 127A. … Read More
By now everyone knows that we’re in a state of emergency. There’s a virus spreading through the population and killing people. There’s no vaccine, and no confirmed effective therapy such as drugs, so if you get sick from it there’s … Read More
On March 5, our Governor issued a Proclamation declaring our current state of emergency. The proclamation suspends several laws, including chapters 89 and 89C, HRS, relating to collective bargaining and public officers and employees excluded from collective bargaining, to the … Read More
Recently, the online site WalletHub published a 50-state study called “2020’s States with the Best & Worst Taxpayer ROI.” ROI, of course, is the acronym for “Return on Investment.” The site derived its ranking by comparing two variables: total taxes … Read More
We are in trying times now, folks. Much of the state is closed. The Capitol and many government offices, including the Department of Taxation, are locked down. People are working remotely when they can, and we are too. In the … Read More
It seems like every year we have a legislature, we have dozens of legislative tax proposals to wade through. Some would lessen the burden on the beleaguered consumer, but most would do the reverse. Most of the tax bills, as … Read More