Lots of the controversy swirling around the ballot measure seeking to impose a “surcharge” on investment property to support public education involves our Department of Education (DOE). The DOE currently receives an appropriation from the State’s General Fund of about … Read More
The news recently mentioned a lawsuit that the City and County of Honolulu, now joined by the other three counties, has leveled against our state government regarding the HSTA-sponsored constitutional amendment. The counties, obviously not overjoyed at the prospect of … Read More
One of the more unique property tax exemptions in the City & County of Honolulu is the exemption for “Historic Residential Real Property Dedicated for Preservation.” Under the exemption ordinance, owners of historic homes can save thousands of dollars in … Read More
These days, our General Excise Tax (GET) contains exemptions and reduced rates that are supposed to reflect commercial reality but often contain leaps of faith. One common example is the wholesale rate. If I sell you a mango that you … Read More
Today, we focus on Kauai real property tax, thanks to an alert reader who has given us a horrifying account of something so commonplace as buying a home there. How long do you think it takes between buying a home … Read More
I’ve often heard the argument that taxes on Hawaii real property are too low. Because the taxes are low, the argument goes, prices are driven sky high, leading to economic pandemonium. But is that really true? Maybe it’s just a … Read More
In this space, I often have unflattering things to say about tax credits. Every year, legislators propose tax credits for some little-noticed niche in an industry. Sometimes the credit is well thought through, and sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes the desired … Read More
Back in 2014, we wrote in this space about a nasty Honolulu City & County rule involving real property tax appeals. That rule said that if you as a property owner didn’t like your real property tax assessment and you … Read More
This week, we continue with our coverage of Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court case that held online sellers can be made to collect state sales taxes even if they don’t have a physical presence in that state. Here in Hawaii, … Read More
In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Wayfair v. South Dakota case. It was a huge turning point in constitutional law involving the ability of states to tax “online sellers” such as Amazon, Newegg, and Wayfair. “Yeah,” you … Read More