Every working resident, every mom-and-pop store, every company in Hawaii must pay taxes, which support our economy. New taxes are often painful because they have broad financial impacts that affect individuals and families.

A REIT tax, however, would be virtually painless to the residents of Hawaii. It would produce approximately $60 million a year in tax revenue which can help in our housing crisis.

REIT stands for Real Estate Investment Trust. In the 1960s, the federal government created REITs to encourage commercial real estate investment across the nation. Unlike the regular corporate tax that is assessed directly on a company’s profit, the REIT model distributes its profits to its shareholders, who subsequently pay personal income taxes on those dividends.

From the perspective of the federal government, it doesn’t matter where in the country the taxes are paid. But Hawaii is adversely impacted because 99 percent of the shareholders of REITs with real estate in Hawaii do not live in Hawaii. As a result, Hawaii collects zero taxes from non-Hawaii residents who are making huge profits.

Additionally, the REIT corporation itself does not pay any corporate tax. As an example, Ala Moana Center, like other REITs in Hawaii, enjoys the benefits of doing business in Hawaii. Yet Ala Moana Center does not pay the Hawaii corporate tax, and neither does the Canadian company that owns the center.

More than 40 REITs own property in Hawaii, and the number is growing. Their real estate properties are valued at an estimated $18 billion. The income from those properties earn profits totaling an estimated $1 billion.

Besides Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge center, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort, the International Market Place, Public Storage, and many other shopping centers, hotels, and office buildings are owned by REITs. They all do not pay corporate taxes as non-REIT companies must.

Two REITs tax bills, which propose two different ways the state of Hawaii can tax REITs, are making their way through the Legislature. Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) supports either method. We see these bills as a step in the right direction toward economic justice, and thus, social justice.

In the meantime, Hawaii faces an appalling shortage of affordable housing for low-income and middle- income families. Making housing affordable so that all Hawaii residents can begin to create a home for themselves and their children is a moral responsibility for all who have the power to help make it so.

Why? Affordability leads to stability; stability leads to community; community leads to a place that can truly be called “home” where all who live there can dream, hope, contribute, and thrive.

Experience as the principal of Kuhio Elementary School in Moiliili made clear to me how important stable housing is. Eighty percent of our students’ family income was below the poverty line. Because of innovative curriculum and the hard work of teachers, our students met and even exceeded requirements of the state math and reading tests for seven straight years.

Then one year, our scores dropped precipitously. We were shocked and could not figure out what went wrong. Later, we found out that during the second semester of that school year, our families were slowly being evicted from their substandard apartments, thereby causing them to lose their stability. Their solid ground, as humble as it was, was gone.

Making affordable housing a reality for all Hawaii’s residents requires money. Faith Action for Community Equity believes the state can start to significantly fill the need by making REITs pay their fair share of taxes every year.

Evelyn Aczon Hao is president of Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE), which includes 18 congregations, a union, health center, housing association and advocacy organizations.