Kokua Line: Deadlines unchanged for excise, many other taxes

Question: The state tax office extended the due date for 2019 income taxes by three months. Are the GE tax due dates extended?

Answer: No. “Filing and payment dates for all non- income taxes (withholding, general excise, transient accommodations, etc.) are unchanged,” according to the state Department of Taxation.

As you noted, it was announced Monday that the state would extend by 90 days the deadline for filing Hawaii income tax returns, to July 20. The automatic extension (no form needed) applies to individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non­corpo­- rate tax filers, as well as to those who pay self-employment tax, DOTAX said.

To answer another reader’s question, no, this extension does not apply to estimated income tax payments for the 2020 tax year.

For more information, see tax.hawaii.gov.

Meanwhile, DOTAX said problems with Hawaii Tax Online — where taxpayers are urged to file and pay Hawaii taxes — have been resolved.

“We are aware that payments made through HTO this past weekend were not posting to accounts. As a result, Hawaii Compliance Express (HCE) sent out non- compliance emails to affected taxpayers. The issue has been resolved. Your HTO account and HCE status are now current. Please refer to your account(s) to verify that your status is correct,” it told taxpayers.

Q: How can we donate blood? It seems there are no more blood drives.

A: Blood Bank of Hawaii has canceled blood drives, but it is still collecting blood — by appointment only, in conditions that adhere to “social distancing” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Blood donations are urgently needed.

As of Monday, the nonprofit organization has canceled all upcoming blood drives, including on the neighbor islands, due to concerns about COVID-19 in public gatherings, it said in an email to regular donors. “As the stewards of Hawaii’s blood supply, however, we must balance the need for public safety with the need to maintain adequate and continuous levels of blood. Meeting both needs requires a bold new approach. Therefore, we created a safe donation environment which complies with the social distancing recommendations while also allowing us to collect the necessary blood to sustain our community,” it said.

The new approach involves scheduling blood donations by appointment only at its Young Street donor center and at five new “pop-up” locations in Honolulu, Kailua, Kaneohe, Waipahu and Ewa Beach. Each facility has been organized so that donors are six feet or more away from each other at each stage of the donation process. All potential walk-ins will be asked to make an appointment.

Make an appointment by calling 848-4770 or, for certain locations, going online at bbh.org (its website). Rather than searching for a blood drive, use the “find a donor center” function.

Here are the locations and hours, according to the website:

>> Young Street Donor Center, 1907 Young St.: Mondays to Thursdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays to Sundays from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

>> Dillingham Headquarters, 2043 Dillingham Blvd.: Mondays to Thursdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays to Sundays from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

>> Kailua Town Center, 609 Kailua Road: Mondays to Wednesdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Sundays 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

>> Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center, 46-047 Kamehameha Highway: Thursdays 6:30 a.m to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

>> Waikele Center, 94-849 Lumiaina St.: Mondays to Wednesdays 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Sundays 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

>> Kroc Center Hawaii, 91-3257 Kualakai Parkway: Thursdays 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.