STAND. COM. REP. NO. 529

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 923

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Economic Development & Business Concerns, to which was referred H.B. No. 923 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COUNTY TAXES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Authorize each county to establish a general excise tax in lieu of receiving any portion of the transient accommodation tax (TAT); and

(2) Provide for increases in the TAT distributed to the remaining counties contingent upon when a county with a population of 200,000 or more enacts a general excise tax ordinance.

The Hawaii State Association of Counties, County of Hawaii, several members of the Maui County Council, and a member of the Kauai County Council testified in support of this measure. The Hawaii Tourism Authority supported this measure in part. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, National Federation of Independent Business, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Hawaii Association of Realtors, and the Hawaii Business League opposed this bill. The Department of Taxation, Tax Foundation of Hawaii, and Waikiki Improvement Association provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2056, to promote further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Economic Development & Business Concerns that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 923, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 923, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Economic Development & Business Concerns,

 

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair