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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0958.018 2016-2018 Pi • coun , Q)iti q comm. 6155 _ Kohala Coast- cpc, RESORT ASSOCIATION Z=: ... "<—t CO ©'� June 18, 2018 -71 cc7,,, Hawaii County Council West Hawaii Civic Center 75-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua-Kona,HI 96740 Testimony in Opposition to Bill 159 Draft 2 Raising the GET by .025 Percent Dear Chairperson Poindexter and Members of the Hawaii County Council, The Kohala Coast Resort Association(KCRA)opposes Bill 159 Draft 2,raising the GET by .025 percent. There are several reasons we oppose this bill: 1) Within the last year,the TAT has been raised to 10.25 percent to fund the Honolulu Rail Project.Visitors to our island feel that increase in the overall price of their stay; 2) County of Hawaii property taxes within the resort zoned areas, and for investment residential properties experienced the highest increase last year— 10.4 percent; 3) Fuel taxes were also increased last year, and those were supposed to be earmarked for the same areas as this proposed GET increase.To date,the full plan on how those fuel tax increases will be used has not been shared; 4) The State Legislature passed a bill, now on Governor Ige's desk,that would apply the TAT to resort fees. If that bill becomes law, those fees will also be passed along to our guests as an increase in the cost of their stay; 5) The visitor industry has been severely impacted by the volcanic activity, with cancellations on the Kohala Coast totaling more than$15 million to date. We are doing our best to protect our employees' positions and stabilize our industry, and do not feel that this is a prudent time to implement another increase of any kind. We know that the County of Hawaii has also experienced lost property tax revenues and increased costs as it assists residents impacted by the volcanic activity. We commend you for all of your efforts.However,we ask that you look at other areas of revenue generation, including the potential of creating a separate property tax classification for vacation rentals currently operating in residential and agricultural areas of the island, since they are not currently paying the same property tax rates as those operating in resort zoned areas, where such use is allowed. We believe this would'- create a more level playing field in the visitor accommodation market, and bring in additional revenues to the county. The KCRA is a collection of master-planned resorts and hotels situated north of the Kona airport which represents approximately 3,500 hotel accommodations and an equal number of resort residential units. KCRA member properties employ more than 5,000 Hawaii Island residents.KCRA member properties annually pay more than$20 million in TAT, $20 million in GET, and$10 million in property taxes, as shown in our Economic Impact Report 2010-2015. Copies of that report have been distributed to all members of the Hawaii County Council. Thank you for your consideration. We encourage your opposition to Bill 159 Draft 2. Sincerely, 4. q IQ .AA,AL.L. P0,4 Comm. No. 11 vv • Ref. To: F I couno l Administrative Director Ref. DateAN 1 8 211/1Il PO Box 6991, Kamuela, HI 96743*(808)747-5762*kohalacoastresortassn0gmail.com*www.kohalacoastresorts.com