Honolulu Civic Beat: A Progressive Legislative Lament

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report of 2015 notes that Hawaii is the state with the second highest percent of its taxes paid by the bottom fifth as we tax them at a rate of 13.4 percent. The top fifth of our population only pay about 8 percent of their income in taxes. For a “progressive” state we have a very regressive tax structure.

Yet this Legislature let a tax provision on the top rates sunset, effectively lowering our already low top tax rate. A number of bills would have increased the tax credits for people living in poverty to reduce their tax rate.

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