Are our property taxes fair?

[terracore]

In Alaska the distinction is between an "Alaska Native" and a "native Alaskan".

[Midnight Rambler]

lavalava and bystander: they might not take offense, but a person who moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire or Maine 20 years ago is still called a Masshole. It's not much different in the South. If you think insularity and distrust of outsiders is unique to Hawaii, you're not very familiar with most of the country and probably the world.

[Midnight Rambler]

The thing that's really irritating is that as a non-resident owner you not only lose the deduction (which is understandable), but the property also gets put in the Residential rate category ($10.05/$1,000 value), instead of the Homeowner category ($6.15/$1,000). So the taxes on a fairly modest house can nearly triple.

The really ironic thing is that the penalty for falsely claiming an exemption is only $1000, so if your house is worth over about $200,000 there's a good chance you'll save money even if you're caught.

[randomq]

Hopefully the tax laws on the BI will always favor small agriculture, resident families, and homesteading. As an outsider, for now, that seems like the best way to preserve traditional island values, and keep land affordable for people that want to live with the land as Hawaiians did.