STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1123

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1863

S.D. 2

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 Tourism & Culture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1863, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve administration of the transient accommodations tax (TAT) by requiring the Department of Taxation (DOTAX) to:

(1) Report annually to the Legislature on TAT revenues received from owners of residential properties who operate vacation rentals and bed and breakfast establishments;

(2) Review the forms and process for the collection of the TAT and include separate categories of collection for residential properties used as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast establishments; and

(3) Submit a report of the review of the forms and process for the collection of the TAT to the Legislature.

DOTAX opposed this bill. The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii offered comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring DOTAX to coordinate with the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) and each county to identify owners of residential properties subject to the TAT who operate vacation rentals and bed and breakfast establishments;

(2) Authorizing DOTAX to coordinate with HTA and each county to conduct audits of owners under paragraph (1) and take other administrative and enforcement actions to ensure compliance with the law;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2005; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism & Culture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1863, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1863, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism & Culture,

 

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair