The Real Cost of the Rail GET Increase

In April 2005 when state lawmakers debated giving the City and County of Honolulu the option to add a 0.5% surcharge to the state's four percent general excise tax (GET) for 15 years in order to pay for its transit project, Hawaii was a much different place. The 0.5% surcharge, a 12.5% increase to the GET rate, was approved without any tax relief to lower income residents and without an actual price tag for the transit project.