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PT wrote:
" This is really something. If you don't check one box or the other, or don't send it in, the home exemption on the property tax will be dropped. Didn't really read it closely until recently but the cover letter said this is due to a new county ordinance."
The letter I received says I don't need to take any action. This is because I filed an HI state tax return. Maybe PT received the other, much less common letter.
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-ne...homeowners
" There are two types of letters. One sent to 37,000 people informs them that their county property tax exemption request will be compared against a state Department of Taxation database to ensure that they are indeed residents.
People receiving this letter who file Hawaii state income tax forms need do nothing. Those who don’t file a Hawaii state income tax form, for example if they are new residents or they are below the income threshold, must submit a waiver to the county explaining why they don’t file state tax forms.
The other letter, sent to 4,100 people, informs them that their Social Security number or date of birth is not in the file. These homeowners must submit a new claim for a homeowner exemption by Dec. 31 or risk losing their homeowner’s exemption next year. The claim form is included with the letter."
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My letter had 2 options
1 I will file in the next 12 months
2 I dont make enough to file
there was no other response possible
so I added a third box "I filed and you should have a copy" and checked it
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^^They would have saved a lot of confusion and man-hours answering questions if they had done just that. You could even put the waiver portion of the form in a separate box, so that the third I-filed choice wasn't under a "waiver" heading. Even the article in the paper, supposedly explaining it, wasn't clear.
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During our lunch break - last week - we went to the real property tax office with our letter and the wahine was clearly also flustered at the poorly written options .
We fell into the not make enough to file column as we are on our social security and only volunteer from time to time helping those not as fortunate as ourselves .
Some of the questions asked were :
1 - Is our bathroom in our kitchen .
answer NO
2 - Is the kitchen in the bedroom
answer No
3 Is either the bathroom or kitchen in the bedroom.
Answer No
4 Is the garage part of the home or a separate structure.
Answer .None of the above - No garage .
They did want the last 4 digits of my SSN but not my husbands - just mine .
The worker filled in the boxes for us,we both signed our Mr and Mrs and she stamped the form and we will for ever be exempt from full taxation .
In addition we get disability exemption and conflict vet exemption .
Of which there are no boxes to fill out on these current forms that pertain to our situation.
There is a substantial penalty though for not filling out the form and sending it in. Making a person a criminal if a person does nothing.
If in doubt - call their office or go in - in person and have the wait help fill out the forms for you.
Mrs . Mimosa
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Just curious, but are people talking about the form or the accompanying letter? The letter I received says I don't need to take any action because I filed state taxes. If I didn't read that letter, then yes, I might be a little confused.
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my letter was post dated - the date at the top of the missive, one week later than when i returned it ....the whole thing was poorly executed
happy some (at least one) one wasnt confused
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Didn't know there were other versions sent out. Basically, if you pay state tax and claim a primary residence for the property tax reduction, then you don't have to do anything. They are checking if your ID, primary residence address and employment correlate.
One thing that is going on is the county appears to have done some computerization in the 90's, then quit. I hear there was almost total hysteria here when Y2K was looming (not sure why everything is dealt with hysterics here but that is the way it is). Then 9/11, Iraq invasion, recession, put computer systems on the back burner. Now, they are gradually getting up to date. Hawaii went big on DEC, Sun and Apple two decades ago. That is why this failed:
http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/the-state-...h-systems/
Having been an eye witness to these kind of computer environments and the monumental bureaucratic failures that can occur, even the failed installed systems are an improvement over what was there. So, they are able to start baselining databases. It still sounds like they are trying to collect the data manually on paper. Medieval tech, LOL.
Looking up the ordinance, this is a third draft. Looking at the dates, it was the response to the questionable "primary residence" going on in 2014. Haha, harder than hell to look up on the county system but some private site has it archived.
http://hawaiipropertytax.com/docs/Ordina...lat....pdf
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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the county appears to have done some computerization in the 90's, then quit
I heard County didn't even handle its own property taxes until the mid-90s.
questionable "primary residence" going on in 2014
Inappropriate "primary residence" claims are peanuts compared to the "too big to tax" landowners.
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This is like the Mona Lisa, or Picasso of bureaucracy.
The absolute finest. Like a 1957 Bordeaux maintained in the perfect wine cave.
Like a priceless 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California that is rarely driven, kept in a garage, and occasional rubbed with a diaper.
It is putting bureaucracy on a pedestal so incredibly high that only a congregation of our world's finest and most legitimately genius engineers... from every corner of the globe... who take the time to come together, and learn each others languages, could ever construct a tower high enough to reach it.
But when we open our letters from the county, we lack any ability to even remotely comprehend what it means. It's like yesterday we all spoke the same language but when you read the letter, it's... just... babbling.
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quote:
Originally posted by Bullwinkle
....the whole thing was poorly executed
Welcome to the islands of the 50th state where we like to say
The governance here is not great it's just okay
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