Aloha
In this edition:
- Update
- Time to Get Involved – Part 1
- Time to Get Involved – Part 2
- Membership Drive
- Legislator Contact Info
Update
SB683 and SB686. Increase to property tax SB683 is a bill to amend the State Constitution to allow the counties to collect property taxes to fund the State’s obligation to pay for education, including the provision for a state-wide referendum on the proposed tax increase. SB686 is a bill to increase property taxes on those who own residential property which is rented out and on vacation rental owners. We would be hit with both taxes. The bill was recently amended in committee and now the residential investment tax applies only to properties valued at over $2 million. This is a huge win for the majority of our members, but a significant new expense for some of our members. The section applying property tax to vacation rental properties remained unchanged. If your rental rate is over $150 per night, the tax rate would be $5 per day, regardless of occupancy. For rental rates under $150, the tax rate would be $3 per day. So, for most people, that will be an additional $1825 of property tax per year. Remember:
- We already pay property taxes which are 3 to 4 times higher than residential property owners.
- Hawaii already “exports” a significant portion of its tax burden by having non-residents pay an unusually high proportion of the State’s taxes.
- The mechanism for collecting the transient accommodation tax through the property tax system is complex and unnecessary.
- Property taxes are based on property values, not based on transactions.
- The Counties don’t pay for education, but yet this bill puts the onus on the counties to collect education tax revenue
- The Counties tell us they can’t enforce their own land use laws on vacation rentals, so asking them to collect a tax on vacation rentals is silly.
- We already collect and remit TAT
- While education benefits everyone, it puts the burden of the cost of education on a few.
- This bill is protectionist and isolationist and will only result in decreased investment in Hawaii. It is nothing more than an attack on tourists and an attack on companies who rent accommodation to others.
These two bills both passed committee and now go to the House of Representatives for a floor vote.
HB 1471 – Advertising Platforms as Tax Collection Agents (now in the Senate) SB704 – Advertising Platforms as Tax Collection Agents (now in the House) Both bills passed through their respective committees earlier this week and both were amended. The amendments have not yet been released, but we do understand that the Senate Committee did take some of the RBOAA suggestions and include them in the amended version. At this point, it seems that only AirBnB is pushing for either bill. VRBO – Expedia -Homeaway have testified against this bill. We need to wait and see what the amendments turn out to be before deciding on our next course of action Remember:
- The tourist industry is dependent on legal vacation rentals to provide accommodation for the tourists who visit the islands every year.
- Those of us who are operating legally are paying GET and TAT correctly and on time and are in compliance with county zoning requirements. We don’t need to pay a private company to police us.
- The bill provides for private companies to share your tax information with the Counties. Under US law and under Hawaii law, this is illegal.
- The bill offers no consumer protection to owners or to travelers.
- The bill makes transient vacation rental owners the only taxpayers in the USA who are required to use a private company to oversee their tax compliance.
- The tax collection agents will increase the fees charged to vacation rental owners. Vacation rental owners are not getting rich off their investments in Hawaii.
- The state will pay the tax collection agents to collect taxes the State now collects for free
Time to Get Involved – Part 1
The tax bill has the support of all the teachers in the state and a lot of parents and the testimony files are huge. We need you to call and email Representatives and Senators and tell them you are opposed to SB 683 and SB 686. Phone numbers and emails are at the bottom of this newsletter.
Time to Get Involved – Part 2
As with any organization, people come and people go. Over time, every organization needs new people to take on responsibilities, provide new energy and new ideas. RBOAA is no different and some members of your executive team have indicated that they will be stepping down at the end of this term. This is your opportunity to get involved and take on a role within the leadership of RBOAA. If you are interested, please contact Neal at president@rboaa.org indicating which areas you would like to get involved with and a brief description of your background.Please also tell us where your vacation rental is and confirm that it is compliant with both state and county regulations.
Membership
“Mahalo” to all of you who renewed your membership and/or made a donation to RBOAA this year. We would not be able to do what we do without your support. We have engaged our lobbyist in Honolulu already this year and he has been of great help so far. But, he is not cheap! In a recent study of some of the more popular owner rental web sites, there appears to be more than five thousand owner-managed vacation rental properties in Hawaii. That number dwarfs our membership numbers so we know there are a lot of owners out there who might not be aware of RBOAA, not aware of all the good work we have done, and all of the good we will continue to do on your behalf. We need to grow our membership in order to continue on as we have in the past. Please ask anyone you know who owns a vacation rental property to visit our web site www.rboaa.org and become a member or make a donation today. We all have neighbors, friends, or maybe even family who would benefit. Please don’t assume they are aware of RBOAA. We are all in this together and all of you can act as a small army of recruiters. Please do your part and help us spread the word. Help us make sure everyone who self manages a vacation rental property in Hawaii is aware of the opposition we all face and that RBOAA is here to help. So please, right now, please renew your membership at www.rboaa.org and click on the “Donate — Click Here” button. Remember, none of your executive team is paid – we are all volunteers.
Legislator Contact Info
Senate: This table lists the contact information for all Senators. Below the list is a summary of all email addresses which you should be able to copy and paste into your email To: field.
Baker , Rosalyn H. (D) | 808-586-6070 | senbaker@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Chang , Stanley (D) | 808-586-8420 | senchang@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Dela Cruz , Donovan M.(D) | 808-586-6090 | sendelacruz@capitol.hawaii.gov |
English , J. Kalani (D) | 808-587-7225 | senenglish@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Espero , Will (D) | 808-586-6360 | senespero@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Gabbard , Mike (D) | 808-586-6830 | sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Galuteria , Brickwood (D) | 808-586-6740 | sengaluteria@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Green , Josh (D) | 808-586-9385 | sengreen@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Harimoto , Breene (D) | 808-586-6230 | senharimoto@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ihara , Les Jr. (D) | 808-586-6250 | senihara@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Inouye , Lorraine R. (D) | 808-586-7335 | seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kahele , Kaiali‘i (D) | 808-586-6760 | senkahele@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Keith-Agaran , Gilbert S.C. (D) | 808-586-7344 | senkeithagaran@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kidani , Michelle N. (D) | 808-586-7100 | senkidani@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kim , Donna Mercado (D) | 808-587-7200 | senkim@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kouchi , Ronald D. (D) | 808-586-6030 | senkouchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Nishihara , Clarence K. (D) | 808-586-6970 | sennishihara@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Rhoads , Karl (D) | 808-586-6130 | senrhoads@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Riviere , Gil (D) | 808-586-7330 | senriviere@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ruderman , Russell E. (D) | 808-586-6890 | senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Shimabukuro , Maile S.L.(D) | 808-586-7793 | senshimabukuro@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Taniguchi , Brian T. (D) | 808-586-6460 | sentaniguchi@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Thielen , Laura H. (D) | 808-587-8388 | senthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Tokuda , Jill N. (D) | 808-587-7215 | sentokuda@capitol.hawaii.gov |
Wakai , Glenn (D) | 808-586-8585 | senwakai@capitol.hawaii.gov |
senbaker@Capitol.hawaii.gov;senchang@Capitol.hawaii.gov; sendelacruz@capitol.hawaii.gov;senenglish@capitol.hawaii.gov; senespero@capitol.hawaii.gov;sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov; sengaluteria@capitol.hawaii.gov;sengreen@capitol.hawaii.gov; senharimoto@capitol.hawaii.gov;senihara@capitol.hawaii.gov; seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov;senkahele@Capitol.hawaii.gov; senkeithagaran@capitol.hawaii.gov;senkidani@capitol.hawaii.gov; senkim@Capitol.hawaii.gov;senkouchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov; sennishihara@capitol.hawaii.gov;senrhoads@Capitol.hawaii.gov; senriviere@capitol.hawaii.gov;senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov; senshimabukuro@capitol.hawaii.gov;sentaniguchi@capitol.hawaii.gov; senthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov; sentokuda@capitol.hawaii.gov; senwakai@capitol.hawaii.gov ;
House of Representatives: This table lists all the members of the House of Representatives. Below the list is a summary of all email addresses which you should be able to copy and paste into your email To: field.
Aquino , Henry J.C. (D) | 808-586-6520 | repaquino@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Belatti , Della Au (D) | 808-586-9425 | repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Brower , Tom (D) | 808-586-8520 | repbrower@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Cachola , Romy M. (D) | 808-586-6010 | repcachola@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Choy , Isaac W. (D) | 808-586-8475 | repchoy@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Creagan , Richard P. (D) | 808-586-9605 | repcreagan@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Cullen , Ty J.K. (D) | 808-586-8490 | repcullen@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
DeCoite , Lynn (D) | 808-586-6790 | repdecoite@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Evans , Cindy (D) | 808-586-8510 | repevans@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Fukumoto , Beth (R) | 808-586-9460 | repfukumoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Gates , Cedric Asuega (D) | 808-586-8460 | repgates@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Har , Sharon E. (D) | 808-586-8500 | rephar@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Hashem , Mark J. (D) | 808-586-6510 | rephashem@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Holt , Daniel (D) | 808-586-6180 | repholt@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ichiyama , Linda (D) | 808-586-6220 | repichiyama@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ing , Kaniela (D) | 808-586-8525 | reping@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ito , Ken (D) | 808-586-8470 | repito@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Johanson , Aaron Ling (D) | 808-586-9470 | repjohanson@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Keohokalole , Jarrett (D) | 808-586-8540 | repkeohokalole@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kobayashi , Bertrand (D) | 808-586-6310 | repkobayashi@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Kong , Sam Satoru (D) | 808-586-8455 | repkong@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Lee , Chris (D) | 808-586-9450 | replee@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
LoPresti , Matthew S. (D) | 808-586-6080 | replopresti@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Lowen , Nicole E. (D) | 808-586-8400 | replowen@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Luke , Sylvia (D) | 808-586-6200 | repluke@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Matsumoto , Lauren Kealohilani (R) | 808-586-9490 | repmatsumoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
McDermott , Bob (R) | 808-586-9730 | repmcdermott@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
McKelvey , Angus L.K. (D) | 808-586-6160 | repmckelvey@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Mizuno , John M. (D) | 808-586-6050 | repmizuno@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Morikawa , Dee (D) | 808-586-6280 | repmorikawa@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Nakamura , Nadine K. (D) | 808-586-8435 | repnakamura@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Nakashima , Mark M. (D) | 808-586-6680 | repnakashima@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Nishimoto , Scott Y. (D) | 808-586-8515 | repnishimoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ohno , Takashi (D) | 808-586-9415 | repohno@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Onishi , Richard H.K. (D) | 808-586-6120 | reponishi@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Oshiro , Marcus R. (D) | 808-586-6700 | repmoshiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Quinlan , Sean (D) | 808-586-6380 | repquinlan@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Saiki , Scott K. (D) | 808-586-8485 | repsaiki@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
San Buenaventura , Joy A. (D) | 808-586-6530 | repsanbuenaventura@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Say , Calvin K.Y. (D) | 808-586-6900 | repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Souki , Joseph M. (D) | 808-586-6100 | repsouki@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Takayama , Gregg (D) | 808-586-6340 | reptakayama@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Takumi , Roy M. (D) | 808-586-6170 | reptakumi@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Thielen , Cynthia (R) | 808-586-6480 | repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Todd , Chris (D) | 808-586-8480 | reptodd@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Tokioka , James Kunane(D) | 808-586-6270 | reptokioka@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Tupola , Andria P.L. (R) | 808-586-8465 | reptupola@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Ward , Gene (R) | 808-586-6420 | repward@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Woodson , Justin H. (D) | 808-586-6210 | repwoodson@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Yamane , Ryan I. (D) | 808-586-6150 | repyamane@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
Yamashita , Kyle T. (D) | 808-586-6330 | repyamashita@Capitol.hawaii.gov |
repaquino@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repbrower@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repcachola@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repchoy@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repcreagan@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repcullen@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repdecoite@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repevans@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repfukumoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repgates@Capitol.hawaii.gov; rephar@Capitol.hawaii.gov; rephashem@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repholt@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repichiyama@Capitol.hawaii.gov;reping@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repito@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repjohanson@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repkeohokalole@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repkobayashi@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repkong@Capitol.hawaii.gov;replopresti@Capitol.hawaii.gov; replowen@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repluke@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repmatsumoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repmcdermott@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repmckelvey@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repmizuno@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repmorikawa@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repnakamura@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repnakashima@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repnishimoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repohno@Capitol.hawaii.gov;reponishi@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repmoshiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repquinlan@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repsaiki@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repsanbuenaventura@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repsouki@Capitol.hawaii.gov; reptakayama@Capitol.hawaii.gov; reptakumi@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov; reptodd@Capitol.hawaii.gov; reptokioka@Capitol.hawaii.gov; reptupola@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repward@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repwoodson@Capitol.hawaii.gov; repyamane@Capitol.hawaii.gov;repyamashita@Capitol.hawaii.gov;
Thank you for your continued support.
Mahalo,
Neal