L eadership entails not only planning for possible obstructions to your chosen plan of action, but also having the resolve to follow through with your plan. Sadly, this is not what was demonstrated on Mauna Kea. Ever since the state issued its Notice to Proceed to the folks that are building the Thirty Meter Telescope, the state knew that there …

In the news recently was a stunning announcement by Justin Kollar, who is the Kauai County Prosecutor.  State law says that for folks driving without a license or driving without insurance, heavier fines and more jail time apply to repeat offenders.  He said that he has decided to prosecute all cases under his watch as first-time offender cases, no matter …

W ithholding is making someone who isn’t liable for tax, but who pays money to someone who is, responsible for collecting and paying the tax to the government.  Employers, for example, must withhold federal and state income taxes out of wages paid to their employees.  The government also makes the buyer withhold taxes on big property sales. The federal government …

In this week’s article, we spotlight yet another attempt by a government agency to shroud its operations in the shadows. During any legislative session, our Department of Taxation furnishes a very important service to our legislators. It provides revenue estimates on various bills going through the legislative process. Sometimes it includes in its public testimony the end result—the bill will …

In this week’s spotlight is the Special Land and Development Fund or SLDF, which is administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).  Into that fund goes all land rents the State receives for land that is either leased or used under a revocable permit (such as those used by airport or harbor-based businesses).  The fund is also …

It’s July 2019, and already we are starting to see laws passed in the 2019 Legislature take effect.  One of these laws concerns “resort fees” that hotels both here and in other states and countries have been charging their guests.  A resort fee is supposed to be a payment for amenities provided to guests of the hotel.  But some hotels …

E very so often, the news reports on people who deny the legitimacy of the government we have here in Hawaii. “We’re not subject to those laws,” they say, “so we don’t have to follow rules or pay taxes.”  It pains me to read stories of people who lost their homes after being told that they didn’t have to pay back …

T he Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie is discussing a new Honolulu property tax proposal with his wife, the consummate researcher. Q.  I thought we had enough problems trying to tax the usage of real property.  Now the City and County wants to tax people who don’t use their real property! A.  Do you mean the mayor’s proposed tax on …

“It’s the Economy, Stupid” is a catchphrase made famous by Bill Clinton when he ran for president in 1992 and won.  Recently, we have been getting lots of news about our economy here in the islands, and none of it has been good.  The national site WalletHub has pegged our economy 48th out of 51 (including DC).  We eked out …

Just three months ago, the Hawaii State Auditor released the latest in a series of reports over the years on the Hawaii Deposit Beverage Container Program, known as HI-5.  That report, No. 19-08, basically said, “Look.  We’ve issued four audit reports on the program, every two years beginning with 2013.  In each of the reports, we rely on the distributors …