Question: Can a U.S. savings bond get too old redeem? I can’t find a bank that will cash it in.
Answer: “No. Even if far beyond its maturity date, a savings bond can be cashed,” according to TreasuryDirect.gov, a website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service that allows people to purchase and redeem securities electronically.
The website also explains how to redeem paper savings bonds of Series EE, Series I and Series HH through TreasuryDirect by mail. See the website for details.
As Kokua Line has reported, fewer banks are redeeming paper savings bonds these days.
Q: Politicians talking about the Earned Income Tax Credit said it was great that Hawaii is making it permanent and refundable. I understand what permanent means but what about refundable?
A: Refundable means that an eligible filer is paid the credit amount even if they don’t owe income tax. “Without refundability, households with too little income to otherwise owe tax could not receive” the benefit, the Tax Policy Center explains on its website, going on to say that “most low- income families also incur payroll taxes. Allowing credits only against tax liability ignores that fact.”
Tax credits are different from tax deductions in that they reduce tax liability directly, TPC explains. Such credits can be nonrefundable, meaning their value is capped by the taxpayer’s income tax liability, or refundable, meaning that “taxpayers receive the full value of their credits, regardless of taxes they owe.”
HB2510 HD2 SD1 CD1, which Gov. David Ige signed into law Wednesday as Act 14, makes Hawaii’s EITC permanent and refundable and incrementally raises the minimum wage.
Q: If the driver of a car gets pulled over for speeding and doesn’t have any insurance, what is the extra fine for that?
A: Five-hundred dollars for the first offense and $1,500 for each subsequent offense within a five-year period, although the court has discretion to grant community service in lieu of a fine, per Hawaii Revised Statutes 431:10C-117
Q: Is it safe to assume that U-turns are legal?
A: No. The Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, Sec. 15-8.4, specifies limitations on U-turns, saying “the driver of any vehicle shall not turn such vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction upon any street in a business district, upon any highway with three or more lanes, or at any intersection where traffic is controlled by traffic signal lights, except as otherwise permitted by official signs and markings.”
Q: I encouraged a guest to buy a HOLO card to ride TheBus while they were here but they didn’t use it up. Can I cash in the card for them?
A: No, all sales are final on HOLO cards, unless the electronic system that manages the fare cards malfunctioned, according to the HOLO card website, which has a section with information for visitors, at holo card.net/for-visitors. The website’s FAQ says “unfortunately you cannot get a refund on the money you’ve added to your HOLO card.”
Q: What can I do if there are mistakes on my credit score?
A: Dispute errors on your credit report by contacting the credit reporting company (Experian, Equifax and/or Transunion) that is rating you based on wrong information, plus whatever companies provided errant information to those agencies, according to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “You should explain in writing what you think is wrong, why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute,” according to CFPB’s website, consumerfinance.gov, which has instructions and a template letter to guide consumers like you.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
