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12-13 01 19:11 DON J~COBS T:8®6 96S ®361 p:01 15-2722 Popaa Street 1.IEG ~~i ~~'1 CO~/965-®3S1 Pah®~, f~Bl ~6T7~ email: don~~al®ha.r~et December 13 ~ 1" - ' ~ ~ + 1 A t~t~~iEV1Y ~ ~`=~v^1, . 1~0: Mr. Jarraes Y. ArakalCi, Chalrn,an de Presiding ®fficer MernberS ®f the l~#awaii County C®uncil cc: Mayor Harry B~ir~ ~ Pay ~.in+~®ln Ashida, Corp. Council 1f'estiev9ony bef®r~ the Oou~ty C®tsncil C~~cer~b~r 19, X001. I ®ppose dill 1 ~ l , Draft 3. I respectfully request that y®~ kill l3iil 121, ®raft 3, or defer acti®n ®n this bill until the legality of the l~inirnurn ~"ax issues have been determined. T'he current Mini~tun~ fax, per Article 11, Seotion 19-9®(g) of the Hawaii C®unty Code the 100 Minlnturn fax pr®posed in dill 1 Z 1, draft 3, are both in violation ®f the Equal Pr®tectior~ Clausestn the U.S. C®nstitution (1 nth Arnendrnent) and Article VUI, Section 3, of the l~awaii State C®nstitution. Regarding °Taxati®n U.S. Suprenne C®urt Justices have handed down the foil®wing oplnl®~s: • the Equal Pr®tecti®n Clause "aPPlies only t® taxation which in fact bears unequally ®s~ pars®ns or pr®perty of the same class". a A state may divide different kinds ®f property into classes and assign to each class a different tax burden so l®ng as those divlsi®ns and burdens are rasa®nable. m T'axati®~ shell be equal and uniform throughout the state, and alt property, real anal personal, shall be taxed in proportion t® value. • 1'he Equal Prptection Clause pr®tects the individual from state action which selects hitn ®ut for discriminatory treatrraent by subjecting him to taxes not imp®sed ®n ethers ®f the same class. Any change In the liawail County Code that increases the tax burden f®r 5®me ®f the pr®perties in a class of real property but n®t f®r all ®f the pr®perties in that same class is discrirninat®ry. ~iie f. ~~s