Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Saturday, December 14, 2024 79° Today's Paper


Top News

Hawaii budget crunch forces tough tax decisions

 

It’s decision time at the Hawaii Capitol, where lawmakers enter their final days scrounging for money to keep the state running with a full slate of proposed tax increases and spending cuts.

They’ll be voting next week on new taxes on businesses, rental cars, online purchases, plastic bags, pensions, alcohol and timeshares while also deciding on a budget expected to slash hundreds of millions from government services.

By a late Friday night deadline next week, House and Senate conference committees must agree on enough tax hikes and spending reductions to pay for a $1.3 billion government deficit projected over the next two years. Final votes would occur the following week before this year’s legislative session adjourns May 5.

Besides taxing and spending, a variety of other proposals have so far survived the legislative process, including measures for a marijuana dispensary test-run, Native Hawaiian recognition by the state, financing to pay for solar power installations and school class time amounts.

But legislators prepared for the biggest battle to be over taxes, which they’re counting on to raise up to $700 million toward the $1.3 billion shortfall. About $400 million would come by reducing government spending, and the remaining more than $200 million would largely be paid by exhausting the state’s emergency hurricane and safety net savings.

Lawmakers previously axed the idea of a broad increase on the general excise tax, which is levied on most transactions at rates of 4.5 percent on Oahu and 4 percent on neighbor islands. The Senate earlier opposed a proposal to begin taxing pension income, as all but 10 states already do, although a similar measure imposing the tax on higher-incomes is still alive after it narrowly passed the House.

The largest tax measure pending before lawmakers would eliminate exemptions enjoyed by subcontractors, subleasors and Hawaiian Airlines, which currently aren’t required to pay the state’s general excise tax for some of their operations. The bill would raise about $200 million a year, but businesses say it would result in double taxation and put them at a competitive disadvantage.

The next-biggest hike would bring in $60 million yearly by raising car rental fees to $7.50 per day.

Other tax measures would charge 10 cents per single-use plastic bag, collect owed taxes for Internet shopping, and tax pension income of individuals with adjusted gross income over $100,000.

Lawmakers also are considering raising taxes on timeshares, capping hotel tax revenue distributed to counties, increasing alcohol taxes by 20 percent, ending state tax deductions for wealthier residents and limiting itemized deductions.

If legislators vote down many of these taxes, they’ll have to further trim government services to make up the difference following several years of previous cuts. Tax opponents fear lawmakers will revive the general excise tax increase even though a proposal doing so failed to make it out of committee earlier this month.

Among non-financial measures, the marijuana dispensary bill would create a five-year pilot program to regulate distribution of medical marijuana to licensed users.

Native Hawaiian recognition legislation would create a commission to prepare a roll of qualified Hawaiians for a convention, a state-level process after federal proposals sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka failed to pass.

An environmental measure would allow residents to use their electric bills to pay off the steep up-front costs of solar installations.

Lawmakers are still considering whether schools should begin implementing a law calling for more student class time starting next school year, a requirement that may be delayed because of its estimated $55 million expense.

A few measures already became law this year, most notably same-sex civil unions and a switch from an elected to appointed Board of Education.

 

Comments are closed.