raising the GET to 6%

[kalakoa]

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/loca...-6-percent

Funny how that full 1% increase "for education" hasn't gotten much media coverage.

Of course, the GET would "only" be 5.5% on neighbor islands (that don't exercise the option to collect an extra 0.5% for "transportation").

[HiloPuna]

Don't like taxes... But it's long overdue to raise the excise tax. If it's a 1.5% bump they need to start targeted exemptions;
groceries and prescription drugs at a minimum. This would also allow the Lege to more equitably distribute the TAT and they could avoid raising that for a while to boot.
Please avoid the mindless harangues about governmental corruption and waste when opining on this. It's expensive to support the needs of the citizens of this state. As we proceed towards (hopefully) a tighter social safety net and improved basic services we have to provide the funding and the GET is the most significant source and ( with exemptions) the most equitable. It's almost always preferable to tax consumption, and even more so in a tourism based economy.

[BillyB]

" If it's a 1.5% bump they need to start targeted exemptions;
groceries and prescription drugs at a minimum. This would also allow the Lege to more equitably distribute the TAT and they could avoid raising that for a while to boot."

It looks like the increase is for schools, not easing the regressive tax on food and medical care. (FYI: the tax was taken off prescription drugs some time ago)

[VancouverIslander]

I don't mind paying increased taxes, however, this kind of tax is regressive in that it creates a higher cost in terms of percent of overall income to the poor. You are basically increasing the cost of all goods and services by 1.5%. For my own personal situation (absentee landlord), this increases my current tax burden as most of my profits are swallowed by amortization/depreciation (which in turn will likely increase my capital gains and income tax paid on that at a later date). So it's $10 extra a month for me, which is not a big deal at this stage of my life, but I know that 1.5% of everything you spend is a pretty significant deal to those on a fixed income or the working poor (almost everyone these days). I'd prefer they increase income tax instead. In the end (either as my rental shows a paper profit) or when I sell (capital gains) I'll likely pay more tax, but it's a more equitable system as I have the capacity to pay.

Just call me Mike

[kalakoa]

You are basically increasing the cost of all goods and services by 1.5%.

GET is a tax on gross receipts, so the effective increase is actually more than the additional 1.5% seen at the point of sale.

the tax was taken off prescription drugs some time ago

Again, not a "sales tax", so prescription drugs are still taxed (every transaction along the way is a "gross receipt" for someone) and that tax is still passed along to the consumer (the businesses involved aren't paying -- it's built into their overhead).

[DTisme]

State-by-state sales tax comparison (state rates are averaged from all districts within each state): http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-a...rates-2015

[kalakoa]

GET applies to virtually every transaction occurring within the state, not just the final point-of-sale.

A Hawaii State Tax Review Commission report from the mid-1980s (I don't have anything more recent handy) concluded that Hawaii GET is roughly equivalent to a "sales tax" rate of around 20% due to the "pyramiding effect".

Example: suppose a parcel of land is leased for $1000 and then sublet twice, each with a 10% markup. Total excise tax on the leases is now more than 14% of the intitial lease.

Tax collections per person are over twice the US average, and higher than "high tax" states like Washington and California. (Source: Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism, 1991.)

[leilanidude]

The GET is very regressive and hurts the poor the most as they are the ones who cannot own their own home - thereby having to rent - and the GET is on top of their rental/lease price as well.
Essentially, the GET contributes to the islands' homeless crisis!

[terracore]

The GET tax is diabolical. In fact, a merchant has to pass onto the consumer the GET tax on the GET tax received on the purchase! Yes, the collected tax is actually taxed AGAIN because collecting the tax is considered INCOME (unlike a sales tax which is considered a collection for the state).

This article has the best description of this I've found:

[Slightly modified for clarity] "Because the state considers the tax you collected to be income too, so you will pay a tax on that tax you collect (confusing right?). Paying 4.5% tax on the 4.5% tax actually equals 4.7025%, but the state allows you to round up a bit and you end up with a GET rate of 4.712% of the sale amount. Most businesses force customers to pay the excise tax and then the excise tax on the excise tax, so you’ll see 4.712% on your bill, not 4.5%. On outer islands (no .5% Oahu surcharge), this means a GET rate of 4.166%. Most businesses do this because it’s common and it means that they won’t have to pay GET out of their pocket, as the customers paid it already."

http://www.ronswebsite.com/blog/hawa...al-excise-tax/

Only Hawaii can find a way to tax a tax payment that is required to pay rent, see a doctor, or purchase medicine. CRAZY! DIABOLICAL CRAZY.

(This example only applies to the GET taxes levied on the end-consumer, it does not even include GET taxes levied (and passed on via purchase price) from farmers, wholesalers, distributors, or other hands it passed through to get to you).

Anybody who wants to increase this crazy tax needs to be voted out of office ASAP until imprisonment for crimes against humanity becomes a viable option for them.

[Guest]

The GET is very regressive and hurts the poor the most as they are the ones who cannot own their own home - thereby having to rent - and the GET is on top of their rental/lease price as well.
Essentially, the GET contributes to the islands' homeless crisis!


Edited by - leilanidude on 03/16/2016 05:43:13

And with that said, you are still willing to jump to conclusions + make baseless accusations towards your very neighbors who are trying to make a few extra dollars off their property by helping others save. Pathetic you are.