HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0722.085 2016-20181321 Kino'ole St. Hilo, HI 967201808-935-0827
May 9, 2018+
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Hawai'i County Council
25 Aupuni Street
-nm
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Dear Madam Chair Poindexter, Vice Chair Eoff and Members
of the Hawai'i County Council,GOOD
Hawai'i Island REALTORS® represents approximately 600 active real estate licensees on Hawai'i
Island and we strongly oppose any increase in the General
Excise Tax, specifically Bill 102.
When this bill was presented in 2016, we attended meetings with council members who supported
the bill and asked how the revenue generated from this surcharge would be spent. Now that Bill
102 has been re -introduced, we have again asked, "how will the revenue generated from this
surcharge be spent?", "what is the plan?" A few of our members have personally testified before
the Council on the specific topic of trust. How can we trust the County to use this new revenue for
its intended purposes — the enhancement of public transportation — and not to supplant the
General Fund, leaving our roads and busses at status quo?
We have attended the Community meetings and are still unclear as to how this bill, which proposes
to take money from individuals and give it to the government, will produce the results intended.
We opposed an increase to the GE tax because it is not like a typical sales tax. HawaiTs GE Tax
applies to every point of sale, every transaction, rents collected, commissions earned, interest
earned, all forms of income. Travel and Leisure Magazine has cited HawaiTs General Excise Tax
as one of "America's Strangest Taxes"; while the tax is considered a business tax "Hawaii explicitly
permits retailers and service providers to pass the cost on to customers". We cannot support an
increase to a tax which further burdens our residents and increases our cost of living.
The Hawaii Tribune Herald reports that our County budget is again projected to increase from
$450 -million to over one-half billion dollars. Obviously, this administration proposes that the tax-
payers support this spending plan. We respectfully ask the County Council NOT to support
the tax increase proposed by Bill 102.
Sincerely,
CWKapono, President
Hawaii Island REALTORS®