1. Property Taxes
    1. The Value of Properties is determined by annual assessment of fair market value.
    2. Property taxes are assessed on 100% of market value
    3. Property Owners living on their property can request an exemption deduction of $80,000, $120,000 if over 65.
      1. other exemptions include: Historic Residential, low and moderate income rental housing, military off-base, deaf, blind, church, Hawaiian home lands, etc..
    4. Each County has different property tax rates
    5. Current Honolulu County rates per $1,000 net taxable property:
      1. 1 Residential $ 3.50
      2. 3 Commercial 12.40
      3. 4 Industrial 12.40
      4. 5 Agricultural 5.70
      5. 6 Preservation 5.70
      6. 7 Hotel and Resort 12.40
      7. 9 Public Service 0.00
      8. 0 Vacant Agricultural 8.50
      9. Non-Residential Taxes
        1. Mayor Caldwell proposal:
          1. Create new property classification “Residential A” for luxury homes valued over $1 million that don’t claim homeowners exemption at rate of $5.50/$1,000.  (wouldn’t hurt local luxury home residents)
          2. Should generate $26.4 million in revenue over 7,300 of these properties 
          3. Hotels and Timeshares and IVUs:
          4. Military rentals and tax rates for off-base military housing.
          5. Various Taxes
            1. Some taxes are regressive (ex: fuel, waste disposal)
            2. Other taxes, while somewhat regressive, can be used to support desirable social policy:
              1. Water
              2. Raise rates on commercial users (ex: private golf courses)
              3. Raising rates on residential users as part of a sustainability policy
                1. Sewage
                2. Two rates: base rate and usage rate for commercial/residential
                3. The GET and the County Surcharge
                  1. The County Surcharge is 0.5% in addition to the GET tax of 4%, only applies to Oahu transactions, and was implemented in 2007 to pay for the Rail.
                  2. The GET tax is a 4% state tax on business’ taxable revenue, that is usually passed onto consumers at the legally allowed limit of 4.712%, often incorrectly called a “sales tax”. The tax rate is
                    1.  .15% for Insurance Commission,
                    2. .50% for Wholesaling, Manufacturing, Producing, Wholesale Services, and Use Tax on Imports For Resale (AKA the “Use Tax”)
                    3. and 4% for all others
          6. GET is a regressive tax since it doesn’t exclude food and medical services
          7. GET adds expense at every transaction, a cumulative effect, “double-dipping”
          8. GET and Use Tax generate roughly half of the state’s tax income $2.5 billion in FY2011
            1. Individual and corporate income taxes, tobacco and liquor taxes and the Transient Accommodations Tax also help fill the state’s general fund.