Hawaii's Governor calls for taxes, taxes, and more timeshare taxes..

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

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Governor Neil Abercrombie called for shared sacrifice in his first Hawaii State of the State address. Breaking the weeks of silence on the matter of balancing the state budget, Abercrombie presented concrete plans to tackle the $800 million shortfall through the fiscal year 2013. In his speech delivered before the house and senate, and with other island officials in attendance, including Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, Abercrombie outlined the measures he hopes to enact, like tax increases and repeals to certain tax deductions.

“I am proposing two fixes to the tax code that will increase revenues to the state. One is a repeal of the state tax deduction for state taxes—an absurdity in the tax code, the elimination of which is long overdue. This change will affect all taxpayers who itemize, so we will phase in implementation for middle-income earners to lessen the immediate effect.

“The other fix is to implement the recommendation of the Tax Review Commission to treat pension income like all other income for tax purposes, as is done when preparing federal taxes. My proposal includes a provision so that those who are most dependent on their pensions will not be taxed.

“I am proposing what is an overdue increase in the alcohol tax and will also propose a fee on soda and similar drinks. We can no longer ignore the fact that consumption of these and other such products contribute to rising public health costs. Revenues from these fees will be used to repair the public health infrastructure and also to fund prevention and education programs.

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The Governor also has his eye on tourism revenue.. time shares and the HTA stand to take a hit…

“We need to ensure that our visitor industry is sustainable,” said the governor, “by bringing the impact fees paid by the increasing number of timeshare occupants into alignment with hotel room occupants who pay the transient accommodations tax.

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VIDEO: Hawaii State of the State – Abercrombie speech breakdown|Big Island Video News

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Pretty soon they'll be taxing hamburgers & french fries!

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Governor Neil Abercrombie called for shared sacrifice in his first Hawaii State of the State address. Breaking the weeks of silence on the matter of balancing the state budget, Abercrombie presented concrete plans to tackle the $800 million shortfall through the fiscal year 2013. In his speech delivered before the house and senate, and with other island officials in attendance, including Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, Abercrombie outlined the measures he hopes to enact, like tax increases and repeals to certain tax deductions.

“I am proposing two fixes to the tax code that will increase revenues to the state. One is a repeal of the state tax deduction for state taxes—an absurdity in the tax code, the elimination of which is long overdue. This change will affect all taxpayers who itemize, so we will phase in implementation for middle-income earners to lessen the immediate effect.

“The other fix is to implement the recommendation of the Tax Review Commission to treat pension income like all other income for tax purposes, as is done when preparing federal taxes. My proposal includes a provision so that those who are most dependent on their pensions will not be taxed.

“I am proposing what is an overdue increase in the alcohol tax and will also propose a fee on soda and similar drinks. We can no longer ignore the fact that consumption of these and other such products contribute to rising public health costs. Revenues from these fees will be used to repair the public health infrastructure and also to fund prevention and education programs.

..................

The Governor also has his eye on tourism revenue.. time shares and the HTA stand to take a hit…

“We need to ensure that our visitor industry is sustainable,” said the governor, “by bringing the impact fees paid by the increasing number of timeshare occupants into alignment with hotel room occupants who pay the transient accommodations tax.

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VIDEO: Hawaii State of the State – Abercrombie speech breakdown|Big Island Video News

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

He is just creating another reason to visit a different destination that is not so taxing. I definitely look at the nuisance fees and junk taxes when I choose where I am going to visit. For example staying on the French rather than Dutch side of St. Martin avoids taxes.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Gotta go after the deep pockets.

All they are doing is what RCI is doing.

And some resorts and some developers.

Did someone say, "Wastegate."

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Is "Wastegate" in Hawaii? Can you tell me where as I would like to visit one. I have heard so much about them.

I read the post but timeshare people are paying the TAT tax already on Maui besides property taxes too. What else do they want from us?

This is taxation without representation so we should vote with our feet and go somewhere else but they know that we are stuck because many of us own there.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

It really sucks living in a state that is 90% tax and spenders. Rumor here is that Abercrombie is going to propose a 10% tax on all taxes paid. He has to propose tax on taxes because there is nothing else left to tax.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Hawaii TOT is nowhere near as obnoxious as Orange County California. I just paid $115 to stay for a week at Laguna Surf.

Which leads me to ask if the different islands are free to set their own hospitality tax like the counties on the mainland can or is it just one blanket tax?

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Hawaii TOT is nowhere near as obnoxious as Orange County California. I just paid $115 to stay for a week at Laguna Surf.

Which leads me to ask if the different islands are free to set their own hospitality tax like the counties on the mainland can or is it just one blanket tax?

Each county sets their own. Maui County is the most timeshare negative.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

It is not a blanket tax and Maui started this tax and other islands are starting to copy them, I believe.

It is an outrageous tax in Laguna and some other cities too. Laguna Surf is only the collector of this tax as it goes to the city. You know that the Government will tax the people who cannot vote if they know that they can get a way with it.

Our TAT tax on Maui was over $11 per day plus we paid RE taxes too and that is going to go up again. It will only get worse over time with our Federal and State taxes too that most of us have to pay because Government is spending more money than they are taking in plus the interest keeps on multiplying. Politicians are corrupt or very stupid but they want the votes so they promise the moon or they tax the people who have no vote like the tourists in this case.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

If every destination taxes those from elsewhere (as opposed to locals), doesn't it balance out?

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

If every destination taxes those from elsewhere (as opposed to locals), doesn't it balance out?

Yes it does.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Personally, these nuisance taxes don't affect where we are going to vacation. However there is a little secret that not too many people that book hotels near the Los Angeles Airport ( LAX ) know about. The airport hotels close to LAX are either in Los Angeles or El Segundo. The hotel tax for Los Angeles is 14% vs 8% for El Segundo. We frequently do the Park/Sleep/Fly at the Embassy Suites LAX South which is in El Segundo. Don't confuse it with the Embassy Suites LAX North which is in Los Angeles. The one in El Segundo is also cheaper.