HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.013 2020-2022 P/rei
C0MM.151
Coast
RESORT ASSOCIATION
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May 13,2022
Matt Kanealii-Kleinfelder,Chair — —C—i
Heather Kimball,Vice Chair t J "<
Committee on Finance
Hawaii County Council m
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Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street, Hilo,HI 96720 W
RE:Support for Bill 156—providing a 15%cap on certain property tax values
Dear Chair Kanealii-Kleinfelder,Vice Chair Kimball and Members of the Hawaii County Council Committee on Finance,
The Kohala Coast Resort Association is in full support of Bill 156 and the proposed rate cap of 15%for the:apartment, hotel and
resort,commercial,industrial, agricultural, native forests,and conservation tax classes. Mahalo to Councilmember Sue Lee Loy
for introducing this legislation and for the productive discussion at earlier Finance Committee hearings.We would also like to
thank the staff and administrators of the Real Property Tax Office and Hawaii County Department of Finance,for listening to our
concerns,and fully explaining the appeals process.
As you know,our hotel and resort members undertook significant deficits in 2020,as we invested in medical benefits and food
programs for our furloughed employees while the visitor industry was completely shut down. Last year was also a challenge,
with the surge of the delta variant,and state leaders encouraging visitors not to travel to Hawaii during the summer season.We
hope that 2022 will continue to be a year of rebuilding and stabilization.And we believe the measured increases proposed in this
bill will help our members further stabilize in fiscal 2023-24 and beyond.
Thank you for understanding that businesses are seeing significant increases in the day-to-day costs of operations in nearly every
arena:salary increases,increases in the cost of family medical benefits,food costs for both our guests and our employee meals,
energy and gasoline costs,construction materials costs and delays,supply chain disruptions,the new Hawaii County TAT
implemented in January 2022,and significant increases in real property tax values in 2022-23.As an example,one hotel along
the Kohala Coast saw the value of its buildings increase by 124%between 2020 and 2022,and seven properties saw their values
increase by more than 50%.These types of increases are not sustainable.
We appreciate that Mayor Roth is requesting that the Hawaii County Council adjust rates for fiscal 2022-23 downward across a
variety of classes,to provide some relief during the upcoming fiscal year.Our businesses are relying on you to create appropriate
guardrails so we can better forecast overall expenses in future years.
KCRA members employ 5,000 people,supporting 20,000 Hawaii Island residents at their hotels,timeshares,restaurants, retail
outlets,golf courses and spas.Additionally,in 2022, KCRA members will pay an estimated$60 million in state and county TAT,
and$40 million in state and county GET. Further, KCRA members,and the residents within our resorts,paid$73 million in
property taxes to Hawaii County last year,one fourth of total property tax collections.
We encourage you to support Bill 156.
Sincerely,
,
Stephanie Donoho �
Administrative Director,Kohala Coast Resort Association Comm. No. 1.. (1-1
PO Box 6991,Kamuela,HI 96743*(808)747-5762*kohalacoastresortassn@smail.com*www.kohalvecast)roesorts.com p Fu
3. 7 2022
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