Letter: Tax reasoning behind REITs support is flawed

Developer Stanford Carr contradicts himself in opposing Senate Bill 301, which would apply Hawaii’s corporate tax to corporations known as real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are now exempt from the tax (“Double taxing REITs sends wrong message about Hawaii,” Island Voices, Star-Advertiser, June 20).

First, he says that applying Hawaii’s corporate tax to REITs would cost them so much money that they would move away from Hawaii. But then he contends that the tax would generate such a small amount of revenue for the state that the benefit would be meager.

Either Mr. Carr does not realize his error in logic, or he is counting on readers not to notice it.

Robert H. Stiver

Pearl City

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