A thorough examination of documented support and opposition to the elimination of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) corporate tax exemption shows a clear divide between the interests of the local community and the special interests that stand to take a multimillion-dollar windfall should Gov. David Ige veto Senate Bill 301.

The governor says that signing the bill would “send the wrong message to the business community” — and yet more local businesses submitted testimony in support of the REIT taxation bill than in opposition. Some 155 people, companies and organizations submitted testimony supporting SB 301, and more than 200 signed onto a petition submitted to the Legislature. In comparison, only 27 organizations and eight individuals submitted opposition testimony.

Not surprisingly, nearly a third of the opposition (31%) came from the REITs themselves, only one of which — Alexander & Baldwin — is local. More than a third of the opposition (37%), is from out of state. Meanwhile — as best as can be discerned — 100% of supporters live here. These supporters include many people who understand the value of business, investment and jobs, but who also care deeply about our local economy: local developers; real estate, investment and construction firms; and unions.

Community advocacy groups such as the League of Women Voters and Americans for Democratic Action support SB 301. The only political organization to submit testimony opposing the bill was the Honolulu County Republican Party.

If the governor does veto the bill, it will reflect the REITs’ success in drowning out the chorus of overwhelming local support for fair taxation voiced by the community and local business leaders. REITs — and their Washington, D.C.-based trade association, Nareit — have cumulatively spent more than $350,000 on lobbying in Hawaii this session. That buys a pretty big bullhorn.

Nareit’s website says: “Ensuring that our members’ collective best interests are effectively promoted remains our topmost priority.” It’s clear that promoting Hawaii’s best interests is not.

Also from Nareit’s website: “Nareit has long supported Congressional efforts to … improve the tax code,” which is linked to a section touting the 2017 Trump tax cuts that gave REIT shareholders an additional 20% tax deduction on their REIT investments (on top of the already favorable tax treatment REITs have received for years).

Two months before the start of the legislative session, the REITs launched a suspiciously timed charitable giving campaign that has donated $350,000 to local nonprofits. Giving to charity is a good thing. But let’s imagine the spreadsheet they’ve got that lists expenses of $350,000 for donations and $350,000 for lobbying right next to a $2-10 million projected annual tax savings from defeating SB 301.

(REITs prefer to use this smaller, unsubstantiated tax estimate, rather than the 69-page study completed by the state in 2016, which estimates REITs saved $35 million in 2014 by not paying state corporate income tax — an amount that’s likely gone up significantly as the value of REITs’ Hawaii assets has gone up by over 40% in the years since.)

What’s not on the REITs’ spreadsheet? The things our community truly values, like fairness. In testimony, opponents characterized fairness as “the argument of children.” Fairness might not matter to the REITs, but it does matter to us. The local businesses, nonprofits, churches and people who support SB 301 care about jobs and a thriving economy, affordable housing and good schools — things that can be better supported if REITs pay their fair share of taxes.

Will Gov. Ige listen to the self-interested REITs that take more from our communities than they give, or will he listen to those who truly care about Hawaii’s future?

Randy Gonce, an Air Force veteran whose degrees include a master’s in global leadership in sustainable development, submitted this on behalf of Young Progressives Demanding Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit for which he is a board member.