Are our property taxes fair?

[kalakoa]

Anyone remember when County invested $$$$ in a system that compares aerial photos to catch structures being built without permits?

I wonder what happened to that.

[leilanidude]

It is fair to give a discount on the property just because someone says it is their primary residence?
What makes them so special? All properties in the same zoning class should be taxed with the same rates based upon value.

[Chunkster]

quote:

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Originally posted by snorkle

It's funny how people like to blame Billy for everything. ("Spend every dollar", indeed)

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Well, he did spend every dollar in sight. There just weren't as many dollars as he might have liked, and he had no choice but to cut back due to the legal requirement for a technically balanced budget. Still, I recall the county borrowing bond money even back then. And now he wants the ability to impose his own GET for the county.

He did manage to appoint a decent Civil Defense chief, and I am actually grateful for that.

[freespirit]

I think every state in the USA has the same property tax law - primary residence gets a tax break additional or secondary homes do not get a tax break no matter where that property/state that additional property may be in.

[terracore]

Out of state property owners pay into the system and extract nothing from it. I don't buy the argument about them harboring invasives and being a detriment. Locals have them too. Many of them recently had their own albizias fall onto their homes or into the road.

I used to be an out of state property owner and tax payer. Eventually I moved here and put my daughter in high school. Since the high school couldn't accommodate the fact that she had already aced all the courses they had to offer (they tried to put her in remedial math even though she had already passed high school calculus, but that struggle is a story for a different time), we had to pay out-of-pocket for her to attend courses at the community college. They were graduating her a year early but it still left two semesters of what would have been wasted time. The college argued with us whether we should pay the in-state rate or the out-of-state rate, even though we had been paying taxes here for years. Eventually we worked it out after I produced Hawaii income tax records that represented an entire year. So none of the property taxes we had paid in previous years meant anything. I understand why they have residency requirements like this, I just thought it was crazy that we were going through all of this when we were Hawaii residents, had paid taxes for years, had a daughter in public school, and were paying out-of-pocket for her classes because the high school couldn't accommodate her. Also, our property (when we were located out of state) did not have any albizias on it, and it still doesn't.

[randomq]

Property tax exemptions for home owners, elderly, vets, etc only apply to the first home, and only if held directly, right? If I wanted my land held by an LLC, that LLC wouldn't qualify for those discounts I would think. I think that is to keep land affordable for actual residents, and not for speculators simply buying up land. Anyway, I'm looking forward to becoming a land owner, citizen, a local, and maybe some day a Hawaiian, if not a native. :-)

[bystander]

quote:

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Originally posted by randomq

I'm looking forward to becoming a land owner, citizen, a local, and maybe some day a Hawaiian, if not a native. :-)

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Sorry it doesn't work that way in Hawaii. You can't call yourself a Hawaiian if you just live here.

[kalakoa]

It is fair to give a discount on the property just because someone says it is their primary residence?

I think this is fair if the person is an actual full-time resident because they will be taxed on everything else. The discount should require real documentation, though, not just a "statement". Same with the Ag exemption: require actual agricultural activity, and the exemption should expire every few years unless it's renewed (with proof).

You can't call yourself a Hawaiian if you just live here.

Nor will you ever be "local".

[lavalava]

If you move to and live in Oregon then you are an Oregonian. If you move to and live in Hawaii then you are a ****youhaolegohomepaleface. Only in America?!

[bystander]

quote:

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Originally posted by lavalava

If you move to and live in Oregon then you are an Oregonian. If you move to and live in Hawaii then you are a ****youhaolegohomepaleface. Only in America?!

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More like only in Hawaii. Would the Inuit in Alaska take offence if a non Inuit person moved there and called him or herself an Alaskan? If not then this is truly unique to Hawaii.