HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-14 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Kristina Anderson Testimony From: Kristina Anderson
To: LPCtestimony
Subject: Testimony OPPOSED--Bill 121
Date: Sunday,April 14, 2024 12:04:26 PM
Attachments: LPC letter-2.odf
Please see attached letter in opposition to Bill 121.
Honorable Leeward Commissioners: April 14, 2024
Thank you for taking my testimony on Bill 121. 1 am ADAMANTLY OPPOSED.
I am a 31-year resident of South Kona Hawaii. I am a career advertising writing professional and
I also fill in with substitute teaching, at all levels K-12. I have owned my own home since 2004.
During the aftermath of my divorce around 2009, my ex husband decided not to help out with
expenses even though one of his children still lived here. I was left floundering, lost clients
during the downturn and fell into foreclosure. I was able to modify the terms of my mortgage a
year and a half later but with one income and two children to support (with no assistance from
their father), times were tough and I was down to my last $600. That's when I discovered
Airbnb. This was a way to hang on, help me get more stable financially and pay expenses. It
was not a lot of money, especially at first, but the point is, hosted short-term renting in my
principal residence saved me. My place isn't really suitable for long term renters and even if it
were, the prospect of squatters scares me. Also, I want to keep my studio available for when
my now grown kids or family visit from the mainland.
I pay all my taxes and am fully compliant with all safety standards. I have been a five-star
Superhost for many years. My guests (no more than two) are usually quiet sightseers here
briefly to see the island we all get to enjoy. However I have also hosted many professionals
including an entomologist hired by the county to consult and set mosquito traps in Milolii during
the dengue outbreak; teams of local archaeologists who were surveying the lava flows; visiting
professors attending conferences; a team of concrete workers flown in from off island and hired
by the county to make repairs during the pandemic; and a fish biologist who booked my place
specifically to assess fish health at our local reefs. Plus many others like teachers and
healthcare professionals who needed a short term situation while they got settled here.
But I , as have many others, have just received a very large property tax rollback. My
homeowner exemption rate was denied, my taxes went from the homeowner rate of 6.10 per 1 K
to 11.15, which is the same rate as paid by someone owning and short term renting unhosted
property at Mauna Lani Resort or Kukio. My tax rollback was $5300, due immediately, and my
taxes for this year quintupled from my previous rate.
I did not even make enough during the high season to pay for half this hit. I am going to have to
close my hosted short term rental on June 30. There is a 6 month lag so I pay the higher rate
while being unable to rent. Nice! But I will also be delighted never to write another check to
HCTAT or TAT. This is something I cannot absorb, so I'm quitting to get my homeowner rate
back, even though the reassessed value won't roll back.
But even if I had decided to continue, the features of Bill 121 are enough to discourage me and
get me to quit. They are onerous, expensive, complicated and COMPLETELY unnecessary.
Hosted rentals are moms and pops who rent out a small portion of their homes to quiet visitors.
We live here and make certain people don't party and disrupt. We are members of the
community who live and work here, pay taxes and contribute.
Mayor Roth recently commented about the large amount of revenue the county TAT has brought
in since 2022
"A relatively substantial part of the budget's revenue comes from the Transient Accommodation Tax
(TAT), which has seen an increase from approximately $19 million pre-county TAT to around $27 million
year-to-date. This increase is a testament to the thriving tourism industry and its substantial contribution
to the local economy."
Yup, we hosted short term rentals DO help bring in a ton of tax revenue to the county. So why
do they want to close every one of them down? Guests love them, and they are needed. There
are not enough hotel rooms on this island to accommodate everyone who wants to visit.
Commissioners, if this bill passes, many of us will simply shut down. We will have no choice. If
the homeowner tax exemption loss didn't get us, the regulation will.
The council and Mayor Roth seem to want it both ways. They want to put us out of
business or pressure us to close while crowing about how much revenue our taxes have
brought in. Between the loss of the homeowner exemption and this pending regulation
meant to obliterate all short term rentals, the handwriting is on the wall. It's just not feasible
or worth doing anymore.
What are they going to do when they get their wish of shutting down every single vacation
rental — even those hosted in their homes by single moms, aunties, uncles, moms, pops,
tutus and grampas—and then they wonder where all the visitors and their tax revenue have
gone?
Hawaii is already getting a reputation of restricting vacation rentals and believe me tourists
are skittish. They will book Mexico, the Caribbean or Costa Rica where they feel more
welcome and are not getting gouged. I would!
Please vote NO to move this bill forward. Or please require there to be an EIS
commissioned so we can understand how much this significant and substantial measure will
impact our fragile economy.
Warm aloha,
/ ,�
Kristina Anderson
South Kona I