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Final Vote Scheduled for Tuesday.
A House-Senate conference committee has left virtually unchanged a bill that would require owner-builders to provide worker’s compensation insurance and withhold payroll taxes from those hired to help construct the home.
Read more about the new laws here:
http://bigislandnow.com/2013/04/25/final...ilder-law/
by Dave Smith
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Thank you, Gov
David
Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com
Ninole Resident
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As I stated in another thread in Politics, I think Abercrombie is eminently replaceable. He has largely been a disappointment to progressive Democrats. This law has likely been pushed to shore up campaign money support from the large building companies and trade associations as noted in the article.
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it's funny that they have "RICO" as a dept name, I thought it was the contractor licensing boards mission statement
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Compliance with the "withholding" requirement will translate into "hire an accountant to manage the taxes", especially given the liabilities of payroll processing.
Remember, you have to keep track of all this long enough to send out the year-end W2.
As an extra added bonus, if you don't have an EIN, you get to share your SSN with all your subcontractors...
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This is a letter I just sent to the committee and I urge EVERYONE to do something similar RIGHT NOW as the vote is tomorrow. Feel free to take talking points from my letter but please don't cut and paste as it diminishes the effectiveness of your testimony.
Send to:
EGHtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov
To Whom It May Concern:
The following are my comments on SB 1077. Having lived in Oregon for most
of my life where owners are allowed to do any work on their own home
(including plumbing and electrical) as long as it passes final inspection
by the county, I am appalled by SB1077. I am in the planning stages of
building my home on acreage in Puna. This new bill is even more
restrictive than the current law prohibiting owners from doing plumbing
and wiring on their own land.
Requiring owners to pay payroll taxes on day labor is ridiculous. Many
owners are actively involved in the building of their homes and only
require occasional assistance. This bill may make sense from a Honolulu
point of view, but out here in the jungle of East Hawai`i it is illogical
on many fronts. Federal requirements on independent contractors begins at
$600 in the form of filing a Form 1099. Independent contractors are
responsible for withholding on their own earnings in this way. Requiring
owner/contractors to calculate payroll taxes does nothing but make it ever
more difficult for those who choose to build their own home, and in many
cases will make it impossible to do so.
We who choose to live in the vastly rural areas of Hawai`i should not be
penalized for contributing to a dismal economy in these areas. Puna
district is one of the poorest places in the US, and is likely the most
economicallly depressed area in the State of Hawai`i. Please reconsider
your actions from a STATEWIDE point of view, not just from the fiscal
picture of Honolulu or Kona or Princeville. I urge you NOT to pass this
overly restrictive bill to please the Contractor's Board and special
interests.
Candi, `Ihilani Coffee
Candi, `Ihilani Coffee
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Saying they did it right back were you came from is not going to get you any votes in honolulu
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Seeb:
Sad but true.
As for the contractor requirements to wire and plumb a house, some licensed people here are excellent, and in fact some unlicensed people here are excellent.
There are some licensed people here I would not have change a light bulb or replace a washer in a faucet.
I have a BSME and have done extensive electrical and hydraulic work, but I couldn't touch my own house when I built.
Now with SB1077, the category of owner-builder is essentially eliminated to provide more money for building contractors and their political friends like "leadership we can trust" Neil Abercrombie.
Hawaii can be bizarre, and a bazaar as long as you have money and friends.
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The letter I sent:
I would like to comment on SB 1077. As a current Oahu resident, with plans to retire in Puna, this new bill appears to be bureaucratic intervention and unnecessary oversight at its finest. I fail to see any need for this additional restriction, unless its intent is to pander to the construction industry and prevent owner builders from being able to build their own homes in a cost effective manner. It is even more restrictive than the current law prohibiting owners from doing plumbing and wiring on their homes, and would inhibit new construction in our more rural areas.
Requiring owners to pay payroll taxes on day labor is ridiculous. As an owner builder, I fully intend to comply with all current laws, to include hiring licensed contractors when necessary to supplement my personal construction effort. Independent contractors are
responsible for withholding on their own earnings in this way. Requiring owner/contractors to calculate payroll taxes does nothing but make it ever more difficult for those who choose to build their own home, and in many cases will make it impossible to do so.
In addition, this bill will only add to the oversight required by local agencies. As these agencies are typically short staffed, with backlogs under the current requirements, I fail to see how enforcement will be possible- this would become one more law on the books enforced only when complaints are received, applied in a sporadic manner at best. Our tax dollars would be better served enforcing the laws currently on the books, reining in unpermitted construction, and enforcing current building code requirements.
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Any news on the vote? Hope it didn't pass.
