MIN CHARTER 2019-04-25 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -10 April 25, 2019 exemption even though they are valued at a market rate of over a million dollars, they pay the same tax rate that we pay, $200 per year. So we had some Communications that came back from the Property Tax office. One saying oh, well, the State says that you know, this is given to the County and we don't think it should be in the Charter, and I apologize if I am misstating the Finance Director's position on that, but I find that rather disingenuous because at the same time the way I understand it, the County is allowed to do taxes, the County is allowed to set the terms of those taxes, but yet we have the Finance Department saying the citizens of the County through its Charter doesn't have that right. I disagree with them on that. I have asked our counsel for advice on the thing of is there anything in the State, you know in HRS or the other ones there that say we cannot place this in the Charter? As far as I understand, there is nothing that says that we cannot do it. Okay? We are just saying, I am just asking, that we do not have a minimum tax. And that our tax rates be based on the value of the property. A couple of the other ones here. Is, I would have loved to have known how many people actually pay minimum tax. How much does it... how much would have been... how much is it going to impact our County? Are we trying to balance our tax... our budget on the backs of our property owners who own the cheapest lots in this County of $3,000 lot, while we are letting people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars lot, get away with the same tax. It is just purely a matter of fairness on here. Doing the analysis based on there, using average prices for Hamakua land, if somebody up in Hamakua is raising livestock, 292 acres will pay the same $200, the same $200 tax as somebody raising vegetables on a thousand square feet down in Nanawale. They are both farmers, but they get very different tax, the ones there, so and you know we are not asking for a whole lot of parcels either on this. We are just saying be fair about it. And then hopefully someday this County will actually straighten up its tax code and try to make a fair tax code for everybody. Although I have been involved in this thing for over 25 years and I am not real optimistic about it, so again, what I am just asking for is fairness here and I don't think it is going to have that major... an impact on this, although I do agree with... that it is easy to, oh, we will just have a minimum. But sometimes easiness is not fair. In this case let's try to be fair. Thank you. CHR. ADAMS: Commissioner Rice. MS. RICE: I see the Finance Director here. Could... is it appropriate to ask her a couple of questions on this? It is not an area that I have any knowledge of basically. CHR. ADAMS: Without objection, would the Finance Director and Ms. Miura would be willing to come forward to address questions from the Commission. And I would ask you to state your name. Page 32