As a real estate professional practicing in Hawaii for many years, I believe that the REITs (real estate investment trusts) should pay the same Hawaii taxes as all companies owning real estate in Hawaii.

When the Japanese brought their investment money to Hawaii in the 1980s, they paid the Hawaii taxes. I debated with Mayor Frank Fasi at the 1991 mayor’s conference in Kuala Lumpur, that the Japan investments were good for Hawaii — my point being that all companies owning real estate property should be paying Hawaii taxes. The taxes collected are how our government sustains the environment and culture of Hawaii.

To say that REITs would not purchase the properties they have in Hawaii if they had to pay Hawaii taxes is a far stretch. To say that there are much fewer prime properties left for the REITs to purchase in Hawaii, so new purchases going forward will be much less, is a more truthful statement. There should be no exception because Hawaii is a tourist- and military-based economy that is quite mature, with limited new industry upsides.

Marshall Hung

Iwilei

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