The Hawaii Legislature seems to have learned the wrong lesson from last year’s constitutional amendment debate. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii was among those who objected to the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have allowed the Legislature to impose a tax on “investment real property” for the
This was originally published as a letter to the editor in The Maui News on Oct. 28, 2018. Lowering Hawaii’s cost of living would be a better way to help our public school teachers than the proposed constitutional amendment that was thrown out Oct. 19 by the Hawaii Supreme Court. The
Last week’s action by the Hawaii Supreme Court to boot the “education tax” proposal from the Nov. 6 ballot was a victory for accountable government and the democratic process. Had it been approved by the voters, it would have authorized the state to tax real property to help fund public
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii agrees the ballot measure was vague and misleading HONOLULU, Oct. 19, 2018 >> The Hawaii Supreme Court today struck down the proposed constitutional ballot question on whether the state should be allowed to tax real property to help fund public education. Keli’i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said, “The fact
When even a Hawaii Supreme Court Justice isn’t sure who is supposed to pay a new tax, you know you have a confusing ballot measure. On Thursday, Hawaii’s highest court heard the counties’ arguments against the wording of the proposed state constitutional amendment that would raise property taxes to benefit
This column was originally featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday, Oct. 17. This version includes the charts and footnotes. A widely cited study issued last month by WalletHub erroneously stated that Hawaii public school teachers make a starting salary of only $24,409 when adjusted for cost of living, supposedly
Shakespeare said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet — proof that he wasn’t a lawyer … or a politician. Either of them would tell you that a “surcharge” smells a lot better to voters than a “tax.” And that’s one of the problems with the
Act 007 appears to be in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ‘Janus’ decision HONOLULU, Sept. 27, 2018 >> A new Hawaii law governing union membership dues may be unconstitutional, according to attorneys Tony Gill and Jacob Huebert, who were featured guests this week (Sept. 24-25) at two forums on the
Of all the questions that surround the Nov. 6 “education tax” ballot measure, the most important may be the one that has been asked the least: How much? How much is this going to cost me personally? How much will it cost our economy? How much is the tax going
Residential A-style homes statewide could face an average $21,005 in extra taxes a year HONOLULU, Sept. 25, 2018 >> A proposed state “surcharge” on so-called investment real property to fund public education could result in county property taxes statewide going up by an average of $21,005 per Residential A-style home or condominium, according to calculations by the
The Hawaii Legislature seems to have learned the wrong lesson from last year’s constitutional amendment debate. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii was among those who objected to the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have allowed the Legislature to impose a tax on “investment real property” for the
This was originally published as a letter to the editor in The Maui News on Oct. 28, 2018. Lowering Hawaii’s cost of living would be a better way to help our public school teachers than the proposed constitutional amendment that was thrown out Oct. 19 by the Hawaii Supreme Court. The
Last week’s action by the Hawaii Supreme Court to boot the “education tax” proposal from the Nov. 6 ballot was a victory for accountable government and the democratic process. Had it been approved by the voters, it would have authorized the state to tax real property to help fund public
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii agrees the ballot measure was vague and misleading HONOLULU, Oct. 19, 2018 >> The Hawaii Supreme Court today struck down the proposed constitutional ballot question on whether the state should be allowed to tax real property to help fund public education. Keli’i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said, “The fact
When even a Hawaii Supreme Court Justice isn’t sure who is supposed to pay a new tax, you know you have a confusing ballot measure. On Thursday, Hawaii’s highest court heard the counties’ arguments against the wording of the proposed state constitutional amendment that would raise property taxes to benefit
This column was originally featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday, Oct. 17. This version includes the charts and footnotes. A widely cited study issued last month by WalletHub erroneously stated that Hawaii public school teachers make a starting salary of only $24,409 when adjusted for cost of living, supposedly
Shakespeare said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet — proof that he wasn’t a lawyer … or a politician. Either of them would tell you that a “surcharge” smells a lot better to voters than a “tax.” And that’s one of the problems with the
Act 007 appears to be in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ‘Janus’ decision HONOLULU, Sept. 27, 2018 >> A new Hawaii law governing union membership dues may be unconstitutional, according to attorneys Tony Gill and Jacob Huebert, who were featured guests this week (Sept. 24-25) at two forums on the
Of all the questions that surround the Nov. 6 “education tax” ballot measure, the most important may be the one that has been asked the least: How much? How much is this going to cost me personally? How much will it cost our economy? How much is the tax going
Residential A-style homes statewide could face an average $21,005 in extra taxes a year HONOLULU, Sept. 25, 2018 >> A proposed state “surcharge” on so-called investment real property to fund public education could result in county property taxes statewide going up by an average of $21,005 per Residential A-style home or condominium, according to calculations by the