What Made It Through the 2019 Session

Legislative Update: What Made It Through the 2019 Session

Here are some of the bills that crossed the finish line for this session. We also mention a couple that got caught by the business end of the Governor’s veto pen.
 

Vetoed Bills

REITs Dodge the Bullet Again
Real estate investment trusts, under federal law, are certain corporations that invest in real estate. They pay no corporate income tax, but their shareholders are supposed to pay tax on the dividends. This, however, doesn’t happen if the tax involved is state tax and the REIT shareholder lives out of state. In that case, the REIT does business and makes money here, the company doesn’t pay income tax, and the shareholders pay income tax to their home states. Some folks saw this as a tax loophole and urged passage of SB 301, a fix in the law that would make the REITs taxable here like any other corporation. The Governor thought there was too much risk that investments into Hawaii would dry up as a result.
 
SB 301 Status: VETO
 
Want to Collect Tax for Transient Vacation Rentals? No Dice
SB 1292 would have required large transient accommodations brokers, and permits all other transient accommodations brokers, to register as tax collection agents to collect and remit general excise and transient accommodations taxes on behalf of operators and plan managers using their services. Seems like a straightforward withholding tax bill? Not so to the counties, who are trying (so they say) to enforce their zoning laws that in some instances prohibit or restrict transient rentals. The bill collects the tax for the State (note that the tax is due whether the business is legal or not) but does not provide for information sharing with the counties. The counties argued, and apparently the Governor agreed, that signing the bill would be tantamount to the State condoning illegal activity.
 
SB 1292 Status: VETO
 
What follows is a selection of bills that have become law. They are presented in no special order.
 
Online Sellers Beware! We’re Going After You…for Income Tax!
Under U.S. constitutional law, a certain amount of connection between a potential taxpayer and a State is needed before the State has power to impose tax. South Dakota v. Wayfair Corp., 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018), upheld a South Dakota law saying that nexus is established for sales tax purposes with $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions. We passed a similar law last year, applying it to our General Excise Tax with lightning speed. Act 41, SLH 2018 (HRS § 237-2.5). Why stop at sales tax? This year’s SB 495 applies the same standard to establish nexus for income tax. The tax press says Hawaii is the first state to do this.
 
SB 495 Status: Act 221, SLH 2019
 
And Let’s Not Forget Marketplace Facilitators!
The bill discussed immediately above establishes the responsibility of an online seller to pay tax. But what if the online seller is selling someone else’s product, and that someone is out of state? SB 396 addresses the issue. Under this bill, the online seller acting on behalf of someone else is a marketplace facilitator, and the facilitator is considered the retailer in the transaction and must pay the GET. If the facilitator takes or processes product orders but doesn’t handle the money, the facilitator must submit a detailed report to the Department about who sold what to whom and for how much.
 
SB 396 Status: Act 2, SLH 2019
 
Conformity to the IRC, With a Break for Nonprofits
Hawaii income tax law usually conforms to much of the federal Internal Revenue Code. That normally helps both the taxpayer and the State. The taxpayer doesn’t have to do tax returns two radically different ways, and the State can easily piggyback on an IRS audit when the IRC and state law are similar. Last year, the State refused to conform to a TrumpTax provision denying business deductions for employee parking expenses but forgot to snuff out a similar provision requiring nonprofits to pay tax when they provide employee parking benefits. This year’s bill, SB 1130, fixes that effective for taxable years beginning in 2019. The bill also clarifies the Hawaii applicable exclusion amount for estate tax and conforms to federal provisions relating to Qualified Opportunity Zones (at least the ones located in Hawaii).
 
SB 1130 Status: Act 69, SLH 2019
 
So, What Really Is a Resort Fee?
Hotels both here and in other states and countries have been charging their guests “resort fees.” A resort fee is supposed to be a payment for amenities provided to guests of the hotel. But some hotels made it so difficult to decline the fee that tax authorities, including ours, concluded that such a fee could be a disguised part of the room rate, which in Hawaii is subject to the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT), a 10.25% tax on transient accommodation rentals. Last year, the Legislature concluded that the State was getting shorted because it wasn’t getting the appropriate taxes on resort fees. It passed a bill to fix the issue but ran into problems by saying that EVERYTHING charged to a tourist is a resort fee. The bill was vetoed. This year, SB 380 clarifies that “mandatory” resort fees are subject to the TAT, effective July 1st. The Department recently posted a Tax Information Release announcing proposed rules to define what a mandatory resort fee is.
 
SB 380 Status: Act 20, SLH 2019
 
You Show Me a K-1, I’ll Show You a Withholding Obligation
Currently, S corporations doing business in Hawaii have an obligation to withhold Hawaii income tax on distributive shares of income credited to their nonresident shareholders-unless the shareholders file documentation obligating themselves to file Hawaii tax returns and to pay tax on those earnings. SB 1360 applies a similar withholding obligation to nonresidents who receive a Schedule K-1 showing passthrough income from partnerships or trusts. The bill took effect in 2019, but the Department of Taxation tells us they aren’t ready to enforce it. Department of Taxation Announcement 2019-08says that the “Department intends on requiring withholding under Act 232 no sooner than taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019.” So, don’t worry about it for this year.
 
SB 1360 Status: Act 232, SLH 2019
 
It’s Now Even More Expensive to Die Here
One of the most straightforward bills, and one of the earliest to be signed into law, was SB 1361, which adds a new 20% tax bracket for taxable estates over $10 million. This ties us with Washington state as the state imposing the highest estate tax rate. Note that we are talking about a Hawaii taxable estate over $10 million, not a Federal taxable estate over $10 million; Hawaii has a unified credit of only $5.49 million.
 
SB 1361 Status: Act 3, SLH 2019
 
Inching Up Support for Lights, Camera, and Action
Hawaii now provides a movie, television, and digital media production credit for productions that shoot here and help our local economy and talent pipelines. The credit was limited by a $35 million statewide limit. Some were concerned that with Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum, P.I. shooting here now, there wouldn’t be enough left in the $35 million to accommodate a feature film as well (think “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Jurassic Park”), and wanted the statewide cap lifted entirely. SB 33, apparently a compromise deal, hoisted the cap to $50 million.
 
SB 33 Status: Act 275, SLH 2019
 
Dust Off Those Ancient Houses!
The Legislature established in SB 1394 a new tax credit that would provide a 30% tax credit for expenses to substantially rehabilitate a certified historic structure. Don’t worry about this one breaking the bank, however; payout of this credit is limited to $1 million statewide.
 
SB 1394 Status: Act 267, SLH 2019
 
Shades of Act 221-the Research Credit Has Returned!
Those of us who’ve been around the block a few times may remember Act 221 of 2001, a series of incentives for high tech development here in Hawaii that helped to develop the industry immensely, but at great cost to the state treasury. One of the incentives enacted back then was a souped-up version of the federal credit for increased research activities, known as Section 41. While the federal credit was based on an increase in research spending from one year to the next, the Hawaii credit was based on pure spending, if it was in Hawaii. In 2013, our lawmakers changed the Hawaii credit to one mirroring the federal credit. In SB 1314, we bring back the Act 221 version of the research credit. Key additions include shifting certification responsibility to DBEDT instead of DOTAX, and an annual aggregate cap of $5 million. This law sunsets at the end of 2024.
 
SB 1394 Status: Act 261, SLH 2019
 
Can’t Tax Tourist Rental Cars Only? Then Whack Everyone
In 2018, Act 215 enacted a surcharge on car rentals for those who didn’t have Hawaii drivers’ licenses. Thus, the tax was $5 per day on “tourists” and $3 per day on “locals.” This year, someone figured out that the surcharge was unconstitutional because it discriminated against interstate commerce. (It’s okay to give a “kamaaina discount” but you can’t do that if you’re a government.) With SB 162, the discrimination is cured-everyone pays the $5, effective July 1st.
 
SB 162 Status: Act 174, SLH 2019
 

 

Legislative Update: Donovan’s Dozen!

Recently, an alert and concerned reporter, when visiting the offices of Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz, spotted a whiteboard with 14 bill numbers written on it.  All of the bills are supposed to be revenue raisers, so we thought it important to share them.  (Yes, I know that a “dozen” is 12, but two of them were already dead when we got the list, and Donovan’s Fourteen doesn’t sound catchy.  That’s my story, and I am sticking to it.)

So here they are, in order of bill number:

Closing the REIT Loophole?  Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, are allowed under federal tax law to pay no tax at the corporate level if they distribute their net earnings to their shareholders as dividends.  The Feds receive one layer of federal tax.  Our state generally conforms to the REIT law, but we tend to miss out because the REIT doesn’t pay state income tax and its shareholders are taxed on their dividends where they live, which generally isn’t in Hawaii.  SB 301 proposes to fix this by treating REITs as regular corporations.  Proponents say it closes a giant loophole.  Opponents note that REITs have invested lots of money in Hawaii and passing an extra tax will cause them to pack up and leave.

Resort Fees as a Price of Lodging?  Many resorts in the U.S. and other countries charge “resort fees” as the price of hotel amenities and services.  Our Tax Department has taken the position that if the fees are mandatory for a guest staying the night, they are part of the room rate and subject to 10.25% Transient Accommodations Tax.  SB 380 proposes to write into law that mandatory resort fees are subject to TAT.  A similar bill passed last year without the word “mandatory,” meaning that meals, Internet service fees, in-room movies, and similar items would be subject to TAT.  The Governor vetoed last year’s bill.

We Don’t Like the Timeshare Tax Formula, So Let’s Double It!  TAT applies as well to timeshare owners occupying their own units.  Because there is no room rate, it applies to half the average daily maintenance fee for a week.  The Department is saying this amount is grossly inadequate, but it apparently never made use of a procedure in existing law to challenge the formula.  SB 382, instead, applies the tax to 100% of the average daily maintenance fee.  (This measure is dead, but its substance may appear in other bills.)

All Aboard for Single Sales Factor!  When businesses operate in many states, it’s always a challenge to figure out how much business is taxable by each state.  Most states take a weighted average of the property factor (how much property is in the state divided by how much property is everywhere), payroll factor, and sales factor and multiply it by net income from everywhere to yield net income taxable in the state.  The classic formula, which Hawaii now has, is an equally weighted average.  Most states have upweighted the sales factor, and 31 states ignore the other two factors, at least for some classes of taxpayers.  The basic idea is that the formula would favor those who export.  SB 394 would have Hawaii join the 31 states.

Conveyance Tax on Short Commercial Leases:  Hawaii imposes conveyance tax when real property is sold or leased and the deed or lease is then recorded.  We presently exempt leases of less than five years from the tax, although leases for more than one year need to be recorded.  SB 395 would restrict the exemption to residential leases one year or less and would repeal the exemption altogether for commercial property.  For leases the tax is applied to the present value of rent payable under the lease, capitalized at 6%.

We Got Online Sellers, Now Let’s Go for Their Marketplaces:  Previously, online sellers could offer products to Hawaii customers without paying Hawaii tax.  That gave them an advantage over local stores.  Last year, following a state-friendly U.S. Supreme Court ruling, our state adopted a law requiring many of those businesses to register and pay general excise tax.  The businesses then said they would pay tax on their own sales but wouldn’t if they were merely representing sellers didn’t have to pay tax to Hawaii.  SB 396 solves that problem by taxing the marketplace provider as if it sold the product directly.  This bill already has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

And Let’s Not Forget Income Tax:  When our state adopted the law last year on the heels of the favorable Supreme Court decision, as described in the previous paragraph, the law applied to general excise tax only.  SB 495 would create a similar law that applies to income tax.  But wait – we have other tax types too, such as Franchise, Public Service Company, or Transient Accommodations, so what are we going to do about them?

You Foreign? You Withhold!  When a nonresident sells real estate in Hawaii, our laws require withholding of 7.25% of the gross price.  That way, it’s less likely that the owner would be able to skip town without paying state taxes, such as income tax on capital gains.  Under current law, entities, such as corporations and partnerships, are exempt from withholding if they register with our DCCA even though they might have been formed in another state.  SB 712 subjects foreign entities to this withholding scheme whether they registered with DCCA or not. 

Online Travel Companies Beware, We’ll Get Our TAT Yet!  Suppose an online travel company (OTC) sells a hotel room to a tourist for $150 a night and pays the local hotel $120.  The hotel pays TAT on the $120.  After years of litigation, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the OTC doesn’t pay TAT on the $30 because it’s not a hotel or a hotel operator.  SB 714 would require the OTC to pay TAT on the $30.  It also contains the substance of SB 380 and SB 382, previously discussed.  (This measure is dead, but its substance may appear in other bills.)

The “AirBnB Bill” Returns Yet Again:  This bill is about “transient vacation rentals,” from bed and breakfast establishments to people just wanting to rent out a room in their house for a little extra money to help make ends meet.  Those who do so are confronted with state laws imposing GET and TAT on the proceeds, and county zoning laws that often forbid TVR use in residential properties altogether.  A bill passed in 2016 proposed to allow TVR platforms such as AirBnB and Flipkey to collect and pay over the state taxes, but the bill was vetoed because of county objections.  This incarnation of the bill, SB 1292, would require the platforms to collect and pay over the tax and provides a citation process with monetary fines for hosts who do not register.

Do we Really Trust Foreigners to Pay Tax?  Currently, we don’t tax Subchapter S corporations, but we do tax their shareholders.  To ensure that non-Hawaii shareholders pay appropriate business taxes, we ask that they file a statement that they will file Hawaii returns and pay taxes.  If they don’t, we withhold Hawaii tax at the company level.  SB 1360 applies the same concept to partnerships, estates, and trusts, except we don’t give the out-of-state partners and beneficiaries the option.  We will just withhold.

When the Certainties in Life — Death and Taxes — Happen at the Same Time:  SB 1361 hikes the maximum estate tax rate to 20%, which would be tied for the highest state estate tax rate in the country.  The rate would kick in for taxable estates over $10 million.  This bill already has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

Jacking Up Conveyance Taxes Again:  Conveyance tax is imposed whenever Hawaii real estate is sold or leased.  SB 1362 proposes to hoist the tax on a condominium or single-family residence for which the owner is not eligible for a county homeowners’ exemption.  For properties $2 to $4 million, the tax would go from 0.6% to 1%, an increase of 67%.  For properties $4 to $6 million, the tax would go from 0.85% to 2%, an increase of 135%.  For properties $6 to $10 million, the tax would go from 1.1% to 3%, an increase of 172%.  For properties $10 million or more, the tax would go from 1.25% to 4%, an increase of 220%. 

A Half Penny for the Keiki!  We’ve written about this before.  SB 1474 proposes a 0.5 percentage point increase in the GET in order to raise $200 million or so for K-12 schools and $50 million for the University of Hawaii.  The bill has crossed over from the Senate, but Finance Chair Sylvia Luke has been quoted as saying that the bill won’t get a hearing in the House.  This bill is probably dead.

Winners and Losers in the 2018 Legislative Session

Legislative Update:  Winners and Losers of the 2018 Session

We’ll now go through some of the losers, the bills that are now dead, and the winners, which have been sent up to the Governor’s office for approval or veto.

Some Bills Dead for This Session

HB 207 Status:  Dead (Estate and Conveyance Tax Hikes)

HB 1718 Status:  Dead (Nonrefundable Credit for Child Care Costs)

HB 2007 Status:  Dead (GET Exemption for Service and Maintenance Facilities for Non-Jet Aircraft)

HB 2462 Status:  Dead (GET Exemption for Sales of Farm Equipment and Machinery to Producers)

HB 2605 Status:  Dead (“AirBnB Bill” to Allow Withholding Tax on Transient Vacation Rentals)

HB 2702 Status:  Dead (Tax on Real Estate Investment Trusts)

SB 2100 Status:  Dead (Expand Solar Credit to Include Battery Backup Systems)

SB 2890 Status:  Dead (GET Applied to “Marketplace Providers”)

SB 2905 Status:  Dead (Credit for On-Site Early Childhood Facilities)

SB 2910 Status:  Dead (Loan Green Infrastructure Fund $ to State Agencies at 3.5%)

TrumpTax Is Alive and Well, but Hawaii Is Stuck in 2017

For the last sixty years, the Hawaii income tax law has conformed, to a great degree, to the federal Internal Revenue Code.  That normally helps both the taxpayer and the State.  The taxpayer doesn’t have to do tax returns two radically different ways, and the State can easily piggyback on an IRS audit when the IRC and state law are similar.  SB 2821, however, refuses to conform in several key areas, most of which affect individual tax.  The federal amendments limit itemized deductions, such as state and local tax, mortgage interest, and miscellaneous itemized deductions (those deductible if they exceed 2% of AGI).  The state bill provides that those federal amendments don’t apply.  The state bill also decouples from bonus depreciation and section 179 changes, key elements in the federal code.  The state standard deduction, personal exemption, and all tax rates are unchanged.  Business tax changes, including disallowance of a writeoff for entertainment expenses, are adopted.  The federal estate and generation-skipping tax changes similarly are not adopted; the Hawaii estate tax kicks in using the federal limits in place for 2017.
SB 2821 Status:  ACT 27

HARPTA!  Bless You!  A Cure for the Wrong Disease?

The Hawaii Real Property Tax Act, or HARPTA for short, provides that when a nonresident person or company sells Hawaii real property, 5% of the gross price is withheld to pay possible tax liabilities, such as income tax on capital gains.  SB 508 changes the withholding percentage to 7.25%, the same as the top capital gains rate.  The Senate wanted the rate even higher, at 9%, perhaps on the theory that some of these properties are rented and the GET and TAT on the rentals can be collected from the withheld income tax.

SB 508 Status:  ACT 122

The Bob Nakata Act

The Rev. Bob Nakata has devoted 20 years of his life to issues surrounding homelessness and affordable housing in Hawaii, including tirelessly prowling the Capitol halls this year lobbying for affordable housing bills.  HB 2748, dubbed the “Bob Nakata Act,” adds $200 million to the Rental Housing Trust Fund, puts $10 million into the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund, and expands and extends the GET exemption for construction of affordable units.

HB 2748 Status:  ACT 39

You Can’t See It or Touch It, But We Can Tax It!

To protect our local business people, Hawaii has a Use Tax.  A buyer has a choice between buying from someone who is subject to General Excise Tax (a local store, perhaps) and someone who is outside our taxing jurisdiction (an online seller, perhaps).  If the buyer chooses to buy from the latter, the buyer needs to pay Use Tax, generally the same as the GET that would have been levied on the local seller.  We already have extended the Use Tax beyond purchases of tangible goods, so that it also applies to the import of services and contracting.  HB 2416 broadens the Use Tax to apply to the value of intangible property imported or used in the State, while exempting the sale of intangible property exported or used outside the State.  The bill exempts stocks and other securities, bonds and other evidence of debt, commodity futures and similar options and rights, interests in land, or dividends.  Still, the trouble is in the details.  Intangible property isn’t like a mango that stays put, so figuring out whether it’s been imported will be a challenge.  And then, are we ready for the results?

HB 2416 STATUS:  ACT 183

Class, Your Assignment Is to Fix Our Unreasonably Low Real Property Taxes, and Not Tell the Pesky Money Chairs!

Hawaii has the lowest real property tax in the nation.  Many see that as a good thing; the teachers’ union sees it as an opportunity to slap a surcharge on that tax to Help Our Keiki.  Because our state constitution now gives all the real property tax to the counties, constitutional changes are needed before such a bill can take effect.  SB 2922 puts the question on the ballot for voters in 2018.  The voters only will be asked to give the Legislature the power to impose the tax, so the implementing legislation, which would define what is subject to the surcharge as well as the amount of the surcharge, can be changed at any time.  Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any of the new tax will find its way into the classroom.  Why?  The State now appropriates almost $2 billion in General Fund money to the Department of Education.  While the constitutional amendment earmarks the new tax for education, there is nothing to prevent the existing $2 billion from being “repurposed.”  Interestingly, the legislation in both the Senate and the House bypassed the respective money committees entirely.  In the Senate, it was heard by Education and Judiciary, while the House referred it only to Education.

SB 2922 Status:  To Ballot

Special Fund Housekeeping Bill Transforms into Money Grab, Then Returns to Normal

HB 1652 started out as a housekeeping bill, to get rid of some special funds that weren’t being used, following a State Auditor’s report identifying those funds.  But then the Senate did two things.  First, it added “auto-raid” provisions placing new dollar caps on fourteen different special funds, so that if the special fund has more money at the end of the State fiscal year the excess is dropped into the state general fund.  Then, it added a provision that increases by 40% the “central services skim,” a fee that the State sucks out of most special funds and plops into the general fund, ostensibly for services that the State provides to the fund (although the skim may exceed by far the cost of those services).  The Conference Committee returned the bill to its original mild-mannered form.

HB 1652 Status:  ACT 164

Let’s Apply 14% Tax to Everything on a Hotel Bill!

A “resort fee,” which also goes on your bill if you stay at a hotel not only in Hawaii but also in many locations in the mainland U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean, is to pay not for basic lodging, but for amenities such as use of the hotel’s weight room, or pool, or Wi-Fi internet service.  But some think that it’s in substance part of the room charge, so that the Transient Accommodations Tax at 10.25% needs to be imposed on top of the GET at 4% or 4.5%.  The Department has been distinguishing room charges from fees subject only to the GET by asking whether the fees are mandatory for a guest staying at the hotel.  SB 2699, however, reacts to the issue by making all resort fees subject to TAT whether they are mandatory or not, and by defining a “resort fee” as “any charge or surcharge imposed by an operator, owner, or representative thereof to a transient for the use of the transient accommodation’s property, services, or amenities.”  This could mean ANYTHING on the guest’s hotel bill, including meal charges, massages, Internet fees, or phone charges.  This certainly was not the intent of the TAT when it was enacted, and it would be far different from most hotel room taxes across the country and internationally if the tax is applied in this manner.

SB 2699 Status:  VETOED

Online Sellers Beware!  We’re Going After You!

Under U.S. constitutional law, a certain amount of connection between a potential taxpayer and a State is needed before the State has power to impose tax.  Quill Corp v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), held that some physical presence is needed before substantial nexus can be found.  However, states have been closing in on online sellers who have lots of business in those states, arguing that a sufficient amount of activity will give the state the necessary nexus.  South Dakota took this position and went after one large online seller, and the case, Wayfair Corp. v. South Dakota, has been accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court and may yield a clarifying opinion later this year.  In the meantime, SB 2514 adopts provisions similar to those in South Dakota, saying that nexus is established with $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions.

SB 2514 Status:  ACT 41

2017 Legislative Update: Winners and Losers

May 4, 2017 was adjournment of the Legislature.  This year, there is a lingering sense that something is unfinished – that something being the Rail Bill, SB 1183, which can’t be signed into the law unless the House and Senate agree on a version of the bill.  We’ll now go through some of the losers, the bills that are now dead, and the winners, which have been sent up to the Governor’s office for approval or veto.

Some Bills Dead for This Session

SB 404 Status:  Dead (Tax on Electronic Smoking Devices)
620 Status:  Dead (Reporting Requirements and Economic Nexus for Remote Sellers)
SB665 Status:  Dead (Expand Solar Credit to Include Battery Backup Systems)
SB 683 Status:  Dead (Constitutional Amendment on Real Property Tax Surcharge for Education)
SB 686 Status:  Dead (Law Implementing Real Property Tax Surcharge for Education)
SB 1290 Status:  Dead (TAT Sharing with the Counties)
HB 1587 Status:  Dead (Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax, Fuel Tax)
HB 263 Status:  Dead (Tax on Medical Marijuana)
HB 1012 Status:  Dead (Tax on REITs)
HB 1471 / SB 704 Status:  Both Dead (Allow Platform to Withhold Tax on Transient Vacation Rentals)
HB1593 Status:  Dead (Uses Green Infrastructure Fund for Energy Storage Rebates)

Choo-Choo-Choo!  Two Different Tracks!  Will There Be a Winner?

By far the most drama in this session concerned the Honolulu rail surcharge.  The 0.5% GET surcharge that is imposed in the City & County of Honolulu is set to expire in 2027, after having received a five-year extension in 2015.  The Senate’s version of SB 1183, which the City favors, extends the surcharge for 10 years while dropping the State’s “skim” to 1%, down from the 10% in current law.  The House version cuts the extension to one year while also dropping the “skim” to 1%, making up the difference by hoisting the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) by a full percentage point for ten years.  House members noted that their version would result in the City getting more money now instead of waiting for it for ten years, and would have less impact on the elderly and the poor.  However, tourism industry stakeholders, learning for the first time at the end of April that the TAT was in play, gave lawmakers an earful.
SB 1183 Status:  Dead, but a Special Session May Be in the Works

Income Tax Poverty Relief, “Robin Hood” Style:  May Start in 2018

The Hawaii income tax now has brackets that haven’t been adjusted since the 1960’s.  Now a single person making the same as the federal poverty line for Hawaii is taxed in not the lowest or second lowest, but the fourth tax bracket.  To deal with the poor people who are getting taxed anyway, we offer a low-income household renters credit and a food/excise tax credit.
The top tax rates of 9%, 10%, and 11%, which expired at the end of last year, would be resurrected by HB 209 to pay for an extended low-income household renters credit, a renewed food/excise tax credit, and a new nonrefundable earned income tax credit based on 20% of the federal EITC.  These rates take effect in 2018:
Filing Status
Rate
Starts At
Single
9%
$150,000
10%
$175,000
11%
$200,000
Head of Household
9%
$225,000
10%
$262,500
11%
$300,000
Married Filing Jointly
9%
$300,000
10%
$350,000
11%
$400,000
In the meantime, HB 375, which used to contain income tax bracket adjustments, has morphed into an appropriation for homeless programs.  The validity of the bill is questionable because it is titled “Relating to Taxation.”
HB 209 Status:  CD1 Passed Final Reading, Enrolled to Governor
HB 375 Status:  CD1 Passed Final Reading, Enrolled to Governor

Obamacare for Hawaii?  Let’s Study It Before It Really Dies

With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress and the White House, many believed that the end is near for what we now know as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, although recent events in Washington, D.C. proved that the Act is still alive and kicking, for now.  HB 552 started out as a bill to make sure that Obamacare lives on in Hawaii by requiring Hawaii health care policies to conform to Obamacare standards, and by requiring individuals to buy minimum essential coverage for themselves and their dependents.  It has turned into a bill requiring further study of the issue.
HB 552 Status:  CD1 Passed Final Reading, Enrolled to Governor

Lights, Camera, Five More Years of Action!

Act 88, SLH 2006, enacted the motion picture, digital media, and film production credit of 15% of qualified spending on Oahu and 20% on the other islands.  The credit was increased in 2013 to 20% on Oahu and 25% on the other islands.  It currently expires at the beginning of 2019.  In the aftermath of a scathing Legislative Auditor’s report criticizing DOTAX’s handling of the credit, this year’s extender bill, HB 423, extends the credit’s sunset to 2024.  It adds verification and reporting requirements, including one requiring a production to get a cost report verified by a CPA.  Controversial “cultural sensitivity” requirements did not make it into the final version of the bill, nor did a requirement for a production getting more than $8 million of credit to agree to provide an advanced screening of the finished product in the county of the island in which most of the production took place.
HB 423 Status:  Passed Final Reading, Enrolled to Governor