Talking Tax
Blankety Blanks Advancing. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. Usually, it’s possible to tell which bills in the legislative hopper provide tax breaks as opposed to tax hikes. The bill replaces a current tax rate with another one, and if the new tax rate is higher it’s a tax hike; […]
Amended Return Equals Guilty Plea (Talking Tax)
Tax Auditors Know this. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. We have been hearing through the grapevine that a number of examiners and auditors at the Department of Taxation have been using a ʻplease amend your returnʻ tactic. It’s by no means a new strategy, but for those who haven’t […]
The ConAm Returns (Talking Tax)
Property Tax for Schools Ver. 2. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. Back in 2018, we as voters were inundated with impassioned arguments on both sides of a proposed constitutional amendment (ConAm for short). The amendment would have given the State the power to impose a surcharge on real property […]
Hoarding School Impact Fees (Talking Tax)
Kamehameha III Would be Upset. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. The DOE is unique in that it is the only state agency with the power to impose a tax. (Even the Department of Taxation only administers and enforces taxes imposed by laws enacted by the legislature.) The tax that […]
Maybe More Tax Hikes Coming (Talking Tax)
Preview of the 2024 Legislative Session. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. The guest is Dylan Moore. It isn’t very far into the new year, but already the tax hike proposals have begun. As reported by Hawaii News Now, Gov. Josh Green is proposing some ‘revenue raisers’ to have resources […]
Restaurants Are Getting Cooked (Talking Tax)
Back GET Assessments on RRF Relief Funds. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. The guest is Russell Ryan. Because of the national impact of the pandemic, various relief programs were enacted by the federal government and helped ease the pain of individuals and businesses throughout the State–for example, Paycheck Protection […]
3.5 Billion Surplus Vaporized (Talking Tax)
Time to Cut Taxes. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Leonard. The guest is Daniel J. Mitchell. Hawaii’s state budget is in a precarious position. It’s a startling reversal of where we were at the beginning of the year. Now, a sluggish economy has caused a large projected revenue surplus to […]
The Lahaina Recovery Fund (Talking Tax)
Cash Out or Litigate. The hosts for this show are Jonathan Helton and Tom Yamachika. One of the more innovative items announced by the Governor’s office when it comes to disaster relief measures is the creation of a Lahaina Recovery Fund. In a press release announcing the measure, the Governor’s Office said that the concept […]
Owning Property in a Burn Zone (Talking Tax)
Exploring Owner’s Rights or Lack Thereof. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. The guest is Jonathan Helton. These days, there is much talk in the news about rebuilding the burn zone that was once Lahaina. Can the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i be restored to its former 1800’s […]
Gumming up 24-Year-Old Litigation (Talking Tax)
Saved by the Supreme Court. The hosts for this show are Mark Coleman and Tom Yamachika. We discuss Kalima v. State, filed in 1999, which then concerned 2,515 beneficiaries of DHHL who sued the State over its handling of the Hawaiian homes program. After decades of litigation, the plaintiff class and the State reached a […]