Vote no on the constitutional amendment that would add new state property taxes to our tax headaches.

This is totally a ploy to use a feel-good issue to raise taxes and deceitfully say only the evil super-rich — that’s you and me — would pay the tax.

There’s absolutely no guarantee that this ploy would increase education funding by even one penny. All the tax revenues would be absconded into the state’s general fund, just like the 10 percent administrative fees charged on rail’s general excise tax surcharge vanished for how many years.

Don’t legislators get it? This ploy would only increase Hawaii’s housing costs, when we should be working to reduce our housing costs.

We could reduce our overall taxes and have better schools. Just close the state Department of Education and have our counties use property taxes to pay for and administer our schools like all other states.

I’d vote for that amendment.

Sam Gillie

Hawaii Kai

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