Deal reached on abolishing Internet taxes

WASHINGTON >> House and Senate negotiators announced Wednesday that they have reached agreement on bipartisan legislation to make permanent a moratorium that prevents states from taxing access to the Internet.

The moratorium was first enacted in 1998. State and local governments that already had Internet taxes were allowed to keep them under the current moratorium, but under the new agreement jurisdictions with Internet taxes would be required to phase them out by mid-2020.

Jurisdictions in seven states — Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin — tax access to the Internet, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Together they would lose “several hundred million dollars annually” if they were no longer allowed to collect the taxes.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the measure means that small businesses and individuals will “finally be free from the threat of hundreds of dollars in new taxes each year, just to access the Internet.”

The Internet tax moratorium was attached to a separate measure modernizing the U.S. customs system.

Carrier to add California flights in 2016

Hawaiian Airlines will increase service between Kauai and California next summer.

Daily flights between Lihue and both Oakland and Los Angeles will take place during the peak travel months from mid-June through September. Additionally, Hawaiian will reinstate nonstop service to Kona from both Oakland and Los Angeles as part of the airline’s seasonal routes.

Beginning May 27, the airline will offer three-times weekly service from Oakland to both Lihue and Kona, four-times weekly service from Los Angeles to Kona, and increase its regular nonstop service between Los Angeles and Lihue to four-times weekly. From mid-June through Sept. 5, service to Kauai from both Oakland and Los Angeles will be offered daily.

The seasonal Oakland and Los Angeles service to Kauai and Hawaii island will add nearly 74,000 air seats to those markets over 14 weeks of service.

The flights to Kona will be on Hawaiian’s 294-seat Airbus A330 aircraft. Flights to Lihue will be on 264-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

Isles lag only Alaska in credit card debt

Credit card debt in Alaska and Hawaii tops the nation, according to a new study by personal finance website NerdWallet.com. Average credit card debt per household in top-ranked Alaska is $5,081.34, and it’s $4,251.24 in No. 2 Hawaii.

NerdWallet estimates average mortgage debt in Hawaii at $236,124.68, which is ranked third behind No. 1 Washington, D.C., at $348,764.23, and No. 2 California at $302,521.48.

The disparity between income and cost of living has deepened, with cost-of-living increases topping income growth by 3.76 percent in Honolulu. While household income locally between 2005 and 2015 rose by 26.6 percent, the cost of living increased by 30.4 percent over the same time period, the study found.

NerdWallet analysts reviewed data from the 2014 American Community Survey and the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for each year since 2005. Credit card and mortgage debt data are from Experian.

Honolulu lauded for work-life balance

Career exploration website Zippia ranks Honolulu second in the nation for work-life balance. Zippia researchers analyzed factors including number of hours worked per week, commute times, size of household, unemployment and poverty rates, as well as activities in the market.

The site lists Honolulu’s commute time as 22 minutes, with which West Oahu residents might take issue; its metro population is estimated at 340,639, and average hours worked was estimated at 38.5 per week.

Contrary to researchers’ expectations, the things-to-do category was not among Honolulu’s strong points, which were the second-lowest unemployment overall and the 13th-lowest poverty rate.

San Diego was rated No. 1 with 38.1 average hours worked and a commute time of 23 minutes.

Researchers used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and online review site Yelp.com.

Governor broaches state income tax

JUNEAU, Alaska >> Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has proposed instituting a personal income tax for the first time in 35 years as the oil-dependent state looks to plug a multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid chronically low prices.

In laying out his budget plan Wednesday, Walker also proposed using the fund that provides annual checks to most Alaskans to generate a stream of cash to help finance state government. The plan would change how dividends are calculated and mean lower checks, at least initially — 2016 payouts would be about $1,000 less than this year’s.

The governor warned that if the state stays on its current track, drawing down on savings, the dividend is in danger of ending in 2020.

Alaska isn’t alone among oil-producing states to experience hard times as oil prices stay low. But unlike states like Texas or Louisiana, Alaska has few other industries to make up the difference. Alaska is one of seven states without an individual income tax.

Cars and Coffee plans event

The last Cars and Coffee Hawaii meeting of 2015 will be Saturday at the Makers & Tasters Kewalo food truck site at 1011 Ala Moana Blvd., formerly the site of Fisherman’s Wharf.

Attendance at the casual event from 5 to 7 p.m. is free, though several nearby food trucks will offer dinner options for purchase.

Feds to retool crash ratings

The federal government will make significant changes to beef up a rating system for cars that has for years awarded high marks to almost all vehicles, even those that have been subjects of multiple safety recalls.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Tuesday that its five-star rating system would be revised to include additional crash tests and new advanced crash-test dummies with more sensors.

The agency also said it would make sure the rating system takes into account new crash-avoidance technologies and pedestrian protections that have become more prevalent in vehicles in recent years.

The system came under fire last year after a New York Times investigation revealed that nearly all vehicles in recent years had been awarded four or five stars.

On The Move

>> The American Institute of Architects, Honolulu Chapter, has announced the following new members of its 2016 Board of Directors:

— President Benjamin Lee, FAIA of Clifford Planning & Architecture;

— Vice President/President-elect Christopher Hong, AIA of Group 70 International;

— Secretary Mayumi Dao, AIA of John Hara Associates;

— Treasurer Kurt Mitchell, AIA of RIM Architects;

— At-large directors for 2016 are Emile Alano, AIA of Architects Hawaii; Jason DeMarco, AIA of Ferraro Choi and Associates; Purnima McCutcheon, AIA of Group 70 International; Rick Myers, AIA of WATG; Kris Powers, AIA of Mason Architects; Ming-Yi Wong, AIA of Mason Architects; Lorena Yamamoto, AIA of Roy K. Yamamoto Architect; and Gary Yee, AIA of SSFM International.

>> The Kuakini Auxiliary has inducted the following new officers for 2016: Lella Migita, president; Jean Tsuda, vice president; Sharon Kurio, treasurer; Corrine Onuma, recording secretary; and Estelle Kaya, corresponding secretary.

>> Chevron U.S.A. has announced that its 2015 Fuel Your School program has generated $350,000 to help fund 391 classroom projects, including 148 that will be focused on science, technology, engineering and math. The funds will help connect real-world experiences to classroom learning for 35,539 students at 144 Hawaii public schools.

Ship Ahoy!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures: