HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0118.018 2002-2004
FROM TCMCH PHONE N0. 80881359226 qUG. 20 2004 04:57PM P1
I
Alexand~a Bernstein - PO Box 2043 - ICamuela, HI 96743 2'f
Angnst o, 2ooa ~ ~ q~ 7
Dear ncilman- ~~l"~'
Regard ug the update of the Agriculture Tax [,aw. I i
In my h mble opinion, there are two things to do, at the exact same time,
L- Tak ppropriately the people who live on Agriculture land but are acKUally not farmers; if
they are not making a livin, at leas[ every three years, ranching or raising crops, then maybe
they are not farmers or ranchers -they are just residents -and therefore don't deserve to he
sut~ 'dized by the taxpayers.
~ Lo er the assessment on actual farmers and ranchers who do eazn a living this way. In fact,
giv an extra break to those who are raising certified organic crops.
Subsid' d Agriculture land benefits the rest of us by:
1- Preserving open space - a BIG part of the tourist attraction of the Big Island
2- Allowing some part of our economy to be home-grown and insulated to some extent from the
price of oil
3- Preserving an economic scetor, small farms, that is available to entrepreneurs that may not be
inclined to work for others or for big organizations. This keeps local people local instead of
driv!~ng them to Oahu or the mainland for employment.
4- If culture land can be more profitable for the farmers, there is less incentive to upzone
agn Iture land to residential zoning, which brings in more people to deplete the water
sup ly and crowd the roadways.
5- If f~ers can retain their lands, there is less land that will go to tree chip farms and other
con roversial uses.
Provi~' g an incentive to increase Urganic Farms benefits the rest of us by:
1- ally' f the abbvc
2 - prb iding a source of food that is more nourishing - an increasing important market locally
an or export
3 - e sing fewer workers to industrial chemicals, thereby lessening the number of workers
rat on early disability and/or leaving the workforce early due to chronic disease
4 - in' easing the number of people, for example, farm workers, who are aware of healthy
pra 'ces -knowledge about organic eating goes hand in hand with incentives to stop
smn ing and eating processed food -this affects the length and severity of degenerative
disc se, always a drag on the economy and quality of family life. $very person who takes a
step!,back from the onset of diabetes benefits the rest of us as well as his own family.
Raga Ing Property Tax and Housing Shortage
1 he about new people moving here who bid up property values and their neighbor's
as ssments go up to levels they cannot afford. Ilow about raising the overall rate per square
foo and giving a progressive reduction to people who have lived in Hawaii for a certain
nuYt~ber of years. I don't know what that would be, but T'm guessing you could end up with
~i I~
Comm. No.~ g_ g
Ref. To: PrmedrN
Ref, t)ate A
FROM TCMCH PHONE NO. 13088[359226 RUG. 20 2004 04:58PM P2
ne ly built and newly bought houses payiteg a substantially higher rate than auntie who has
beep living in the same house £or 30 years. This would also benefit the people who etc living
in shacks they own in the poorer areas of the island. It would make all of us less hostage to
the ewcomers. And people who were born here and just bought their first house would pay at
the educed rate, having lived here 2C>-30 years.
Once a law like this is passed, people considering moving here for the Srst time would be
ptelJared to pay the higher assessments and would come if they could continue to pay a
greater portion of the island's property tax income.
For ex mplc, those who didn't file as full-time until tax year 2003 would get an increase [n i ;
pro rty tax. Those who first filed as full-time residents for tax year2.000-2002 would slay
'tile une. Those who first filed as full-time residents for tax yeaz 1999 or earlier would get a
pro rty tax reduction from the current assessment rate. Those not filing as full-time
resi ants would pay the current assessment. The percentage reduction from the current rate
that homeowner gets with this formula would he carried until the homeowner sells the honte
and oyes out of state. That way, if the homeowner had a couple of kids and moved up to a
bi r house, his reduction would still apply. [TO keep people from marrying hxally to get a
low r rate, if a house is co-owned by a couple at different reduction levels, it would be easy to
hav lines on the assessment form that elicits each person's reduction Icvel, adds them
loge her, and divides by two.]
And to etcourage more rental housing, there could be a separate reduction based on how many
housing units you rent for under a certain amount. That is, some kind of formula that rewards
low-cost rentals at different sizes of houses. For example, 1-bedrooms under $600/month, 2-
bedr(wms under $1200, etc. Though, rather than measuring in bedrooms, which encourage
landiords W have many tiny rooms, basing it nn a measurement of square feet.
Sincore~y,
I
i~~
i
Y
I
i '
Ii
II
t'
~ i
I