040116WHT_A08 REV

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 | WEST HAWAII TODAY 8A TAX: The money can be spent on operating or capital expenses for public roadways or highways, etc. The County Council must hold a public hearing before passing the tax surcharge and must have a bill passed and signed by the mayor before July 1, or the ability to enact the tax expires. Finance Committee Chairwoman Karen Eoff hopes the public will speak on the issue. “The positive side is that the tax would be a way to bring a significant amount of money into the county’s budget to help keep up with infrastructure needs, but the tax has also been criticized because it applies to the sale of basic necessities such as food and medical services — items that are exempt from sales tax in most states,” Eoff said. “I hope to hear from our constituents during the Finance Committee meeting or via email or other forms of testimony on how they feel this would impact them.” The money can be spent on operating or capital expenses for public roadways or highways, public buses, trains, ferries, pedestrian paths or sidewalks, bicycle paths and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, under the terms of the state law. It can also be used to pay off bond debt for those projects. Unlike a sales tax, the GET is applied against all steps of a manufacturing process, leading to costs passed on to consumers beyond the 4.16 percent at the register. About one-third of it is paid by visitors. Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter likes the fact that tourists shoulder some of the tax burden. They use the roads as well, she noted, adding that the GET surcharge seems more fair than increasing property taxes or gas taxes. Poindexter said having the ability to add a surcharge to the GET is a home-rule issue, as it’s up to the county, unlike rules coming down from Honolulu. She’s not sure she’d want to use it, but she’d like to retain the option, she said. “It would be like an emergency trump card for me,” Poindexter said. Increasing the general excise tax has long been a concern for the nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a 60-year-old educational organization that encourages efficiency and economy in government and promotes an equitable tax system. The GET is a regressive tax — hitting lower income people harder because it is applied uniformly, thus taking a larger percentage from low-income people than high-income individuals. It’s also broad-based, applied to goods, services, rents, royalties and interest. “It’s the broadest tax in the country,” said Tax Foundation President Tom Yamachika. Had the county had the additional tax last November, the latest data available, it would have brought in about $2.3 million more that month, based on calculations using the $458.5 million collected for November and reported by the state Department of Taxation. Yamachika recommends that governments make sure they are operating as efficiently as possible before raising taxes. “It’s a good idea to look internally before going to the taxpayers and saying, ‘Give us more and more and more,’” Yamachika said. Kenoi couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, but he had seemed favorable about the measure last year when Ige signed it. At the time, he said he wouldn’t ask the County Council for the tax hike, but he was ready to discuss it. “It’s an important tool, it’s an additional tool to pay for important infrastructure,” Kenoi said at the time. “It’s something we’ll take a look at. It’s not something we’re asking the council to do at this time.” The bill was widely supported by trade unions and government officials, while business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Hawaii Association of Realtors opposed it. Local chambers of commerce did not respond to inquiries by press time Thursday. The states’ four mayors had asked the state to allow the one-half cent to make up for cutbacks in the counties’ share of the transient accommodations tax, which is paid by guests at hotels and part-time renters. Look for the special shopping carts filled with newspapers! KAILUA-KONA 75-1015 Henry St. This offer is valid at Walmart Kailua-Kona while supplies last. Promotional offer valid March 27, 2016 to July 3, 2016. other animal advocate groups to pony up and push the plan over the top. It calls for a 500,000-square-foot, multi-story facility in the heart of Kailua Village. Only moderate portions of St. Michael the Archangel Church would have to be removed to make way for the building and three bars in the area have already agreed to build their lanais higher so patrons can still see the ocean once it’s built. Nasia said the groups had been kicking the idea around for years, but it wasn’t until she read an online comment telling her to do more that she decided to spring into action. “It’s amazing what anonymous advice can do,” she said. The hefty price tag doesn’t come without consequences. The county’s incumbent administration will have to push two major projects to the back burner to pay for the palace: The Superferry, as well as the proposed wall construction between East and West Hawaii. And the fact that the project will be funded and run by nonprofits did give the administration pause before it signed off. As a nonprofit, it won’t be required to pay much in property taxes, meaning a big chunk of prime, westside real estate will be off the books. “That’s our payroll,” said Mayor Eastwell Better. “That’s where friends get raises and Hilo gets parks.” The project’s already tapped worldwide attention. Psychologist and sociologist Booker Smarts, PhD, said the model the facility will follow to reduce population growth — letting dogs live together, without human masters, like couples in highend style — is revolutionary. Operating like their two-legged counterparts, they’ll eventually grow so used to one another, reproducing won’t be a natural desire, he explained. “I think we’ll see by the fourth or fifth day it’ll be gone,” Smarts said, adding he first started researching the topic after observing couples as a grad student while working as waiter in Kailua-Kona one summer. “Maybe by the third.” Now, the groups are looking to other animal advocacy groups to raise the last $30 million, which is far from a done deal. The pet resort will have plenty of space for feral cats, mongooses and other exotic animals, but creating a feral-less pet population hasn’t proved to be a seamless venture. Some say the utopia could simply put an end overnight to what some people have been working their whole lives for. “That’s like asking me to delete my Facebook page,” said Clive Tail, director of Paying for Spaying, who moved to the island last Tuesday but vacationed here in 2009. “It’s important to malama for our island’s ferals, but I have a kuleana to an online presence, too.” Beachgoers watch the waves roll in at Laaloa Beach Park on Thursday. LAURA SHIMABUKU/WEST HAWAII TODAY KAILUA-KONA — Several West Hawaii beaches were closed Thursday amid warning-level surf warning that pounded the Kona Coast. The surf, fueled by a large northwest swell that spread down the island chain, gradually diminished Thursday, prompting the National Weather Service in Honolulu to downgrade the warning to an advisory, which remains in effect until 6 a.m. today. Wave heights of 6 to 10 feet were forecast overnight for west-facing shores off the Kona Coast. On Thursday, Hawaii County Civil Defense closed Kahaluu Beach Park and Laaloa Beach Park, also known as Magic Sands, in Kailua-Kona, and Kaunaoa Bay at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in South Kohala until further notice. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has also closed Kua Bay, also known as the Maniniowali section of Kekaha Kai State Park, in North Kona. HIGH SURF OBSERVERS Big waves close several beaches WEST HAWAII TODAY PETS: Proposal announced April 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A


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