Our state was recently in the news when State Reps. Chris Lee and Sean Quinlan held a press conference in response to the controversy surrounding loot boxes and microtransactions in video games. Lee announced that he would be looking to … Read More
Recently I received an email from an alert citizen whose remarks were published in Money magazine in March 2017. It apparently impressed the editors of the magazine enough to print this comment in extra-large type. It was in response to … Read More
In early November 2017, the State Auditor issued Report 17-10, which reviewed special, revolving, and trust funds administered by the Department of Taxation. One of them is the Tax Administration Special Fund, which, although not an area of concern for … Read More
In the last few weeks I’ve been discussing the Foundation’s involvement in litigation involving online travel companies and the State’s attempts to wrest more general excise taxes out of them. The Foundation has limited its involvement with the case to … Read More
Two weeks ago, we wrote about a case now before the Hawaii Supreme Court in which the State audited and assessed the taxpayers, causing the taxpayers to spend millions of dollars on litigation that resulted in a court judgment. The … Read More
In an earlier article, I wrote about customer service at the Department of Taxation. One alert reader wrote, with tongue firmly in cheek (I think), “I object to the use of the word ‘customer.’ It certainly doesn’t feel like that … Read More
Halloween may be over, but we still have lots of scary stories! Once upon a time there were several companies that were audited by our Department of Taxation. The companies and the Department didn’t agree on what was owed. They … Read More
Recently, the Honolulu City Council approved on first reading Bill 80 (2017), which would award a real property tax exemption to “ocean-friendly restaurants.” The term “ocean-friendly restaurant” was coined by a nonprofit organization called the Surfrider Foundation. That organization, founded … Read More
It’s about time for our annual review of the Department of Taxation and its customer service. Let’s see how the Department did in the year ending June 30, 2016, as reflected in the Department’s annual report. One notable improvement has … Read More
During the past few months, the Tax Review Commission, a group provided for in our state constitution that is supposed to meet once every five years, has been busy at work. The Commission is tasked with recommending changes to our … Read More