HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.068 2016-2018April 24, 2018
Re: Bill 108
I'm here today to oppose Bill 108.
Laws must be consistent with the Hawaii State Constitution and the,
Taxpayer's Rill of Rights, which are guaranteed to all people. TVR owners
should not be deprived of these fundamental rights. Your bill is illegal.
According to Bill 108 - "Evidence of prior use that shall be provided to the
director may include tax documents for the relevant time period, including:
State of Hawaii general excise tax filings; transient accommodations tax
filings; and federal and State of Hawai' i income tax returns."
Since the counties do not administer the tax collection function that the
Department of Taxation does, it is not appropriate that they be deemed
entitled to private information of taxpayers. This provision violates
taxpayers' rights to confidentiality and privacy. The DOT Bill of Rights
provides: "Taxpayers have a richt to be assured that their dealinms with the
Deeartment of Taxation will be kept confidential. Taxpayers have a right to
be assured that their tax returns and tax information will not be disclosed."
Per Hawaii's Home and Vacation Rental Market: Impact and Outlook
Prepared for Hawaii Tourism Authority on December 29,2016:
® One-third of visitors surveyed indicated they chose to stay at home
and vacation rentals because it enables them to stay OUTSIDE of
traditional hotel zones and because they enjoy the greater
individuality.
• 15% of respondents indicated they would not have made the trip (to
Hawaii) had it not been for the alternative accommodations option
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Our elected officials are ignoring the fact that residents depend upon the
income from vacation rentals to help pay their mortgages and living
expenses. The resorts are owned by large multi -national corporations who
keep their visitor spending in house while small vacation rentals are owned
by local homeowners who encourage guests to spend their money within the
community.
The economic hardship of an annual $500.00 fee to operate a Transient
Vacation Rental is a burden that many local citizens of the Big Island cannot
afford. A deadline of 180 days is unreasonable. Per West Hawaii Today of
April 23, 2018, due to a computer glitch building permits are not being issued
and there has been a backlog of permits with no projected date of permits
being issued. Does the council expect Non -Conforming Use Permits to be
issued as smoothly.?
Hawaii has significantly bigger problems on its plate than vacation rentals.
Per a report published April 23, 2018 in Hawaii. News Now by The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development an individual earning up to
$49,450 is now considered "low income" statewide. Keep in mind: Teachers
in Hawaii who are just starting out their career and have a bachelor's degree
but no additional training make about $36,000.
Are short term rentals really the priority for our government when Hawaii
hotels are the top performing hotels in the country when it comes to
occupancy and room rates (Star Advertiser 4/9/2018) yet our residents are
some of the poorest in the country? TVR owners are just trying to make ends
meet.
Kamuela, Big Island, Hawaii