Talking Tax
How the GET Contributes to the Problem. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. The guest is Scott Grosskreutz. According to a study by the University. of Hawaii School of Medicine, there is a shortage of physicians in Hawaii. The school has forecasted that the gap between supply and demand is […]
A GET Exemption for Food and Medicine (Talking Tax)
Figuring Out who Benefits. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. There has been a lot of talk these days about possibly adding a General Excise Tax (GET) exemption for food and medicine. The three Democratic candidates for governor all support it, as Hawaii News Now reported. The argument that most […]
Squirreling Away Taxpayer Funds (Talking Tax)
Why it’s so Hard to Follow the Money. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. Most of the money in the state, and the place to which many (but not all) tax collections go, is the general fund. The Hawaii Constitution explicitly mentions this fund in provisions that together require a […]
Whether a State Can Tax Itself (Talking Tax)
Fighting to Drop GE Taxes on Nonprofits. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. We look at Senate Bill 3201, a bill to lower general excise taxes paid by charities and other nonprofits, which passed the Legislature this past session. The Department of Taxation objected that it’s possible to read the […]
It’s the Economy, Mooooo (Talking Tax)
To Get Milk You Still Have to Feed the Cow. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. On June 6, the financial site WalletHub put out a study called “2022’s Best and Worst State Economies.” In that site, our humble little state had lots of reasons to be humble, coming in […]
We’ve Got Bills (Talking Tax)
How our Bill Prices Compare. The host for this show is Tom Yamachika. Sometimes we wonder just how lucky we are to live in Hawaii. We all know it’s a pricey place, but sometimes it takes raw statistics to drive that point home. This week, we are looking at statistics from doxo, a bill payment […]
Taxes in the Tank (Talking Tax)
Hidden Charges at the Pump. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. Many of us who drive cars now dread the day when we’ve got to go to the gas station. Between COVID-19, Russia vs. Ukraine, and other economic factors, gas prices have already passed the $5 per gallon mark and […]
More Tax Laws to the Governor (Talking Tax)
The Challenging Ones. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. We discuss a number of “questionable” bills including: SB 3040, allowing DAGS to impose a user fee on those wanting to get paid for goods or services furnished to the State; HB 2179, which allows DOTAX to convert tax liens into […]
Legislation in the Home Stretch (Talking Tax)
Bills on the Governor’s Desk. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. The Hawaii Legislature is done for the year. Its last day for this session was May 5th. It has done all its work on new laws for this season. Some of the bills it finally passed have already been […]
Stealth Taxes in 2022 (Talking Tax)
Taxes You Don’t See. The hosts for this show are Jay Fidell and Tom Yamachika. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii tries to follow and report on bills proposing new taxes. They follow any bill that mentions taxes, or affects the tax codes. But that’s not enough. Lawmakers can be very crafty and propose things that […]