ThinkTech Hawaii: Getting Temporary Tax Fixes (Talking Tax)
Not What Candidate Green Promised. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. We discuss the tax proposals taking shape at the Legislature, and the reaction of key legislators to the initiatives set forth by then-Candidate Josh … Read More
Tax Word Find
Now that the New Year is off and running and we are quaking in our boots waiting for our Legislature to reconvene, here are some of the ideas that we have been following. We’ve put them into a Word Find … Read More
No. 1 In the World – In Tourist Taxes
Last month, the website money.co.uk published an article giving our Honolulu a claim to international fame (or infamy). It listed the city as having the highest tourist tax of any city in the world. It noted our 10.25% transient accommodations … Read More
A GET Exemption for Food
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
Addressing the Tax Crisis in Health Care
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
Can the State Tax Itself?
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
General Excise Tax on Nonprofits
Many of us have had the chance to work with nonprofit associations, either as a board member, volunteer, or paid staff. It isn’t clear to many people how our tax laws, specifically our GET, apply to these associations, so I … Read More
Transit History
This week, I’m going to do something a little different. I’m going to trot out an analysis that was done by one of my predecessors. Who and when will be revealed later. (My comments on how they relate to today’s … Read More
If You Think Gas Prices Are Bad…
Many of us who drive cars now dread the day when we’ve got to go to the gas station. Between COVID-19, Russia vs. Ukraine, and other economic factors, gas prices have already passed the $5 per gallon mark and don’t … Read More