Business Briefs

First Hawaiian to open Waiakea branch

First Hawaiian Bank plans to open a new Wai­akea branch next year in the Prince Kuhio Plaza Shopping Center in Hilo.

The branch will be at 111 East Pua­inako St., Building F, in the retail location formerly occupied by Blockbuster Video. Renovations will begin in early 2014 and are expected to be completed by next fall.

Once the new Wai­akea branch opens, First Hawaiian’s Kame­ha­meha branch at 120 Wai­anue­nue Ave. in Hilo will close. All of the safe-deposit boxes will be transferred to the new location, as will many of the branch’s existing employees. No employees will lose their jobs. The 6,000-square-foot Wai­akea branch is double the size of the existing 2,520-square-foot Kame­ha­meha branch and will offer much more customer parking. The new branch also will feature a 24-hour full-service ATM. First Hawaiian, which opened its first Hawaii island branch in 1910 in Hilo, operates 57 branches in Hawaii, three on Guam and two on Saipan.

IRS pays $110B in improper tax credits

WASHINGTON » The Internal Revenue Service paid out more than $110 billion in tax credits over the past decade to people who didn’t qualify for them, according to a Treasury report released Tuesday.

The Earned Income Tax Credits were intended for poor working families. In his report, IRS Inspector General J. Russell George said more than one-fifth of all credits paid under the program went to people who didn’t qualify.

"The IRS should be commended for implementing numerous processes to educate Americans and identify and prevent improper EITC payments," George said in a statement. "Unfortunately, it is still distributing more than $11 billion in improper EITC payments each year and that is disturbing."

IRS efforts are hampered by unscrupulous tax preparers as well as honest families who have trouble figuring out how to calculate the complicated credit, the report said.

The agency said it prevents "nearly $4 billion in improper claims each year and is committed to continuing to work to reduce improper claims."

The EITC is one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs. In 2011 more than 27 million families received nearly $62 billion in credits.

Amazon.com raises free shipping minimum

NEW YORK » Amazon.com customers will need to spend more money on the site in order to qualify for free shipping.

The online retailer raised the minimum order size needed for free shipping to $35 from $25. The change, made Monday, comes ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. It also comes after Walmart.com made a similar change earlier this month.

Amazon.com is pushing customers to sign up for its Amazon Prime service, which costs $79 a year. Members receive free two-day shipping on millions of items on the site and access to its TV and movie streaming service. In a post on its website, Amazon.com Inc. said its move marks the first time it has increased its free shipping minimum in more than a decade.

At Walmart.com, customers now need to spend $50 to qualify for free shipping, up from $45. It also increased the amount of items that are eligible for free shipping. Now nearly 99 percent of Walmart.com’s items qualify, including electronics, toys and clothing, up from 15 percent before, said spokes­man Bao Nguyen.

Nokia unveils its first tablet computer

NEW YORK » Nokia is expanding its lineup of Windows phones and introducing its first tablet computer, all sporting the powerful camera technology found in its flagship Lumia 1020 smartphone.

The struggling cellphone maker is turning to the camera to differentiate its phones from those of rivals. The Lumia 1020 has a 41-megapixel camera with technology designed to produce better low-light shots and offer greater manual controls than most smartphones. The new devices will use Microsoft’s Windows system and come as Microsoft aims to complete its $7.4 billion deal to buy Nokia’s phone business and patent rights. The deal is expected to close early next year.

Nokia, a Finnish company, has seen its cellphone business unravel since Apple revolutionized the way people use handsets with the 2007 introduction of the iPhone. Microsoft, meanwhile, is struggling amid declines in sales of traditional personal computers in favor of smartphones and tablets.

Tax season will start late, IRS says

WASHINGTON >> The Internal Revenue Service plans to delay the start of tax-filing season by a week or two because of the government shutdown, the agency said Tuesday. But taxpayers will still have to turn in their 2013 returns by April 15 as usual.

“Readying our systems to handle the tax season is an intricate, detailed process, and we must take the time to get it right,” Daniel I. Werfel, acting IRS commissioner, said in a statement. “The adjustment to the start of the filing season provides us the necessary time to program, test and validate our systems so that we can provide a smooth filing and refund process.”

Under the delay, the IRS would start accepting returns between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, and said it will decide the specific start date in December.

ON THE MOVE

Shaymus Alwin has been named chef de cuisine at Azure Restaurant. Alwin has more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant and culinary industry in many positions, including executive sous-chef at Azure Restaurant, executive chef for Bistro Catering, sous-chef for the Bistro at Century Center and sous-chef for Chai’s Island Bistro.

The Hawaii Medical Service Association has announced six management promotions: 

» George Yamada to vice president of claims services from assistant vice president of claims administration.

» Kevin Matsu­moto to assistant vice president from senior director of Medicaid programs.

» Wendy Nakasone to assistant vice president of brand management from director of marketing and communications.

» Al Ogata to assistant vice president of facilities and security services. He was previously a director of business security and recovery services, legal services and business of information technology governance.

» Jennifer Walker to assistant vice president of government business development from senior counsel in the legal services department.

» Conni Young to assistant vice president from senior director of membership services.