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Considering a Carbon Tax with Rebates
The Hawaii Tax Review Commission, under our state constitution, convenes once every five years or so to examine and report on our state tax system. It recently published its report addressed to the Legislature.
Insuring your collection? You'll need the Bluebook of Gun Values
Editor's Note: This is the second article in a series I've entitled "At Home and on the Range". These pieces entail products and services that I think will be of particular interest to On Target readers in the coming year. ************************* Everyone is...
1920 Jones Act needs an update, and so does the Jones Act fleet
By Jonathan Helton America's federal Jones Act is old and in dire need of an update. Oceangoing U.S. ships sailing under the auspices of the Jones Act fleet are in a similar condition. Now 101 years old, the Jones Act technically...
More on Green Fees
Once every five years or so, the Hawaii Constitution asks our government officials to put together a Tax Review Commission. Its job is to "conduct a systematic review of the State's tax structure, using such standards as equity and efficiency." To some people, it...
State budget windfall opens way for tax cuts
Photo by Charley Myers Grassroot Institute of Hawaii calculations show there is plenty of room for the Legislature to break its habit of continually increasing taxes HONOLULU, Dec. 23, 2021 >> Gov. David Ige's fiscal 2023 general fund budget shows revenues are up...
Emily, Covid and the Ultimate Exit–musings from an expat in Portugal
Editor's Note: The world keeps on turning. In spite of the chaos of the last year, we're moving forward and, whenever possible, even with a little panache. Kurt Stewart, our writer-at-large in Europe, recently bought a 230-year-old house in the center of Portugal. With the help...
Keeping the lead out of your life with Hygenall and surgical gloves
Editor's Note: This is the first article in a series I've entitled "At Home and on the Range". These pieces entail products and services that I think will be of particular interest to On Target readers in the coming year. *************************
The New County TAT Earmarks Aren't the Real Problem
Honolulu, just like most of the other neighbor Island counties, has passed a 3% addition to the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT). It had to. The State was giving it millions of dollars a year in revenue sharing, but in 2020 the...
Bold change needed to fix Hawaii healthcare
Photo by Charley Myers By Keli'i Akina Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were warned that lack of healthcare capacity in our state was a deepening problem. The last two years have revealed that things are even worse than we...
Foreign Trade Zone Kerfuffle
If you're in downtown Honolulu and you're driving past Restaurant Row, you're likely to see a sign on the makai side saying, "Foreign Trade Zone No. 9." In this country, a foreign trade zone (FTZ) is a geographical area, in (or adjacent to) a...