HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0236.082 2024-2026P / Couyl [
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From: Greg & Jeff
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 10:06 AM
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To: Council Testimony
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Subject: BILL 47
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Dear Hawaii County:
Proposed Bill 47 puts an undue burden on the Transient Vacation Rental Property owner by imposing annual renewal
fees on the TVR license, and then taxing us again for the use of hosting platforms. (Plus, the bill is completely unclear if
this hosting fee is charged per unit or per owner, and if it covers multiple properties or not.)
Combine this is the recent addition of the 3% HI County TAT, and the upcoming proposed statewide "green tax," and you
are killing the short term vacation rental owners with excessive taxation with zero benefits in return.
Please note that short term vacation property owners support a myriad of other small, local businesses: house cleaners,
window washers, A/C inspectors, dryer vent cleaners, plumbers, handymen, landscapers, laundry services, as well as
stocking our condos with products purchased at local stores including toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo and
conditioner, laundry soap, cleaning supplies, condiments, and propane. Our guests also support local businesses. Since
they are not "trapped at a hotel," our renters buy groceries from KTA and Foodland Farms, eat at local restaurants, visit
Farmers' Markets, rent cars and purchase gasoline, etc. Hotel guests tend to remain on property and are encourage to
spend their tourist dollars within the hotel, not in the community.
With many nearby hotels on the Kohala Coast charging $1,000/night or more, transient vacation property owners offer
alternative rental options for those who cannot afford to stay at the Four Seasons, the Mauna Lani Auberge, or the
Mauna Kea Hotel. We provide a valuable service, support other local businesses, and help the tourist business — all
with minimal impact on the environment. Please seek ways to reduce our tax burden, instead of increasing it —
especially with no benefits.
Please also note that many transient vacation property owners have seen enormous increases in insurance rates, due to
the Maui fires. And now we small business owners are getting hit with significant, annual registration fees from your
office. This is an unfair burden and will only harm us and the local businesses we support.
Is it your intent to completely kill transient vacation rentals? That appears to be the point of your proposals. If Bill 47
passes, I suspect you will see a significant decrease in the TA and GE taxes the county and state receives, as well as a
reduction in monies spent supporting these vacation rentals, which would only harm the surrounding local small
businesses. I would hope your intent would be to encourage small business owners, support the local communities, and
help out the hard-working locals -- instead of funneling more and more tourist dollars to the large hotel chains.
Mahalo,
Gregory Keller
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