HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0107.199 2016-2018 COUNTY-CLERK'
From: ,Jonathan COUNTY OF HAWAII
To: Council Testimony
Subject: RE:Thoughts on TAT increase and polystyrene
Date: AN i
Date: Sunday,September 03,2017 8:36:39 AM 1@
Sorry, I got all caught up on TAT I forgot about polystyrene. I fully support a ban! I was at a chamber
of commerce event last week that took place at a company in Hilo that is fully ready to support a
100% biodegradable alternative.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From:Jonathan
Sent:Sunday, September 3, 2017 8:30 AM
To: counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov
Subject:Thoughts on TAT increase and polystyrene
Aloha,
My name is Jonathan Humphries, I run We Build Things Inc. which is a small business in Keaukaha
(where we live and work) with one B&B,two long term rentals, and some light IT consulting. Our
business is heavily impacted by the recently approved increase to the TAT as that is one of our more
profitable revenue streams. Today our B&B nets about 20% more per month than the long term
rentals and in order to maintain that we will no longer absorb the taxes into our nightly rate but
instead, pass them on to guests along with the state tax's correspondence address (see attached
sample invoice). If collecting the taxes from our guests proves too difficult (we use AirBnb and while
they provide fantastic marketing,they don't make it easy to collect taxes)then we will change it to a
long term rental.
In 2012 Hawaii made the top 10 list for highest tourist tax rates in the US
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/10/01/travelers-alert-the-10-u-s-cities-that-tax-
tourists-the-most/#7532d3062b04). With these new rates, its going to get worse, not better. I feel
that by raising taxes further to pay for a rail system that we can't take advantage of,you are hurting,
not helping East Hawaii tourism. If we have to pass on a higher tax rate, it should be going to
renovating Banyan Drive, improving downtown, and improving the parks and roads and things that
attract our tourists. Maybe some of it should go tb addressing coastal flooding which is starting to
make Queen Liliuokalani park unusable for half the day. Most of my guests don't even visit Oahu,
they are as uninterested in it's malls and high rises as we are. This new tax doesn't hurt my business,
but it hurts our city and our island. How much of East Hawaii is dependent on Tourism? If I switch
to long term rental, how much more do you lose from fewer tourists and their lost sales taxes? If I
switch to long term rental, I need no longer employ several service providers (landscaping, room
turnover, and exterminator), how much more are you going to lose in their GE taxes?
This bill is ridiculous, I could support a higher tax rate if it improved something on this Island (we
have lots of things that need maintaining and improving), but sending it to Oahu doesn't make sense
to me. I'm going to find out who voted in favor of it and in about a week (hopefully this is enough
time for you to reply), start getting the word out to our friends and neighbors. I'll be setting a
reminder in my calendar around election time as well to repeat the process. I suspect from your
letter that you did not support this bill, and I appreciate it. I hope that if you agree with my
assessment,you will take this to the ears of those who did vote for it. I welcome any feedback,
kti
Comm.
Ref.
Ref. Date 2 ----
especially if I have misunderstood how this bill impacts our island, my contact information is below.
Thank you,
Jonathan Humphries
CEO
We Build Things Inc.
Jon.Humphries79Pyahoo.com
714-872-0001