Laserfiche WebLink
+4Y OS N'' <br /> •./ce,; ..., Wil Okabe <br /> L-qi Managing Director <br /> Harry Kim .:6-:. i.:;,q f' <br /> Mayor -_-AAVT <br /> "" _ Barbara J.Kossow <br /> �Ih -�:°��.•= Deputy Managing Director <br /> County of Hawaii <br /> Office of the Mayor <br /> 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553 <br /> KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Bldg C • Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 <br /> (808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440 <br /> February 5, 2019 <br /> Rep. Richard H.K. Onishi, Chair <br /> COMMITTEE ON TOURISM & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS <br /> Hawai'i State Legislature <br /> Dear Representative Onishi and Committee Members, <br /> RE: HB 631, RELATING TO TAXATION and HB 1376, RELATING TO <br /> TAXATION (authorizing a County surcharge on the TAT) <br /> Thank you for the opportunity to testify on HB 631 and HB 1376, both of which <br /> would authorize each County to impose a surcharge on the State's transient <br /> accommodations tax. <br /> We appreciate the innovative approach these bills bring to the table, and the <br /> recognition of the counties as partners in the affairs of Hawaii governance. We do not <br /> shy away from the responsibilities that these bills would place on the counties to raise <br /> their own revenue, and appreciate that the State would still "levy, assess, collect, and <br /> otherwise administer the county surcharge," because it would be wasteful and <br /> prohibitive for each County to set up parallel structures. <br /> Having recognized the benefits of HB 631 and HB 1376, we do have to express <br /> concerns. <br /> First, the bills provide that "(f) The taxpayer shall designate the taxation district to <br /> which the county surcharge on transient accommodations tax is assigned..." <br /> This may be standard language, but it would seem to allow each taxpayer to choose <br /> that jurisdiction which imposes the lowest surcharge. That surely is not what is intended, <br /> and would need to be clarified. Elsewhere in the bills it states that "the director of <br /> taxation shall have the exclusive rights and power to determine the county or counties in <br /> which a person is engaged in the business of furnishing transient accommodations and, <br /> in the case of a person engaged in the business of furnishing transient accommodations <br /> in more than one county, the director shall determine, through apportionment or other <br /> County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer <br />