Every so often a question comes up from some alert readers. “The Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) is regressive, meaning it falls hardest on the poor. Hardly anyone understands it, because it is so unlike the sales taxes, and even … Read More
There has been a lot of talk these days about possibly adding a General Excise Tax (GET) exemption for food and medicine. The three Democratic candidates for governor all support it, as Hawaii News Now reported. The argument that most … Read More
It’s been obvious for some time that there is a physician crisis here in Hawaii. Simply put, we don’t have enough doctors here. The ones we do have are moving away, and most of the medical school graduates are opting … Read More
Last week, I ranted and raved about our COVID-19 emergency proclamations, more than 20 of them, that finally ended on March 25, 2022. Now we see in the news that the Healthcare Association of Hawaii wants the Governor to declare … Read More
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as readers of this column may recall, our Governor exercised emergency powers, including suspending a gaggle of laws, for two full years. It started with the first emergency proclamation on March 4, 2020, which lasted for … Read More
A couple of weeks ago, we raised the question of whether lawmakers are looking at businesses and taxpayers as cows to be milked as opposed to constituents to serve. This week, we look at another set of folks who seem … Read More
The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie came to me with an unusual question. “Can the State tax itself?” “I’m not sure,” I replied, “but why would anyone care?” “You remember there’s a bill that the Legislature passed, SB 3201, that … Read More
These days, there are tons and tons of new items keeping our minds occupied – from the Johnny Depp trial to the January 6 hearings to the demise of Roe v. Wade. As our primary and general elections edge ever … Read More
Maui, our Garden Island, has been on the move lately. It recently passed a budget, its largest ever, where it proposes to spend more than One Billion Dollars in this fiscal year. This, by the way, is a 26% increase … Read More
Sometimes we wonder just how lucky we are to live in Hawaii. We all know it’s a pricey place, but sometimes it takes raw statistics to drive that point home. This week, we are looking at statistics from doxo, a … Read More