HB 2653 would only exacerbate the regressive nature of Hawai’i’s state and local tax system and compound the preferential treatment of income derived from wealth.
ITEP Work in Action
Advocates and policymakers at the state and federal levels rely on ITEP’s analytic capabilities to inform their debates on proposed tax policy changes. In any given year, ITEP fields requests for analyses of policies in 25 or more states. ITEP also works with national partners to provide analyses of federal tax policy proposals. This section highlights reports that use ITEP analyses to make a compelling case for progressive tax reforms.
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ITEP Work in Action April 9, 2024 ITEP’s Miles Trinidad Testifies Against Weakening Hawai’i’s Estate Tax
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ITEP Work in Action January 24, 2024 Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Rebalance Hawaii’s Upside-Down Tax Code to Achieve Prosperity for All
Our state tax code makes the situation worse. A comprehensive analysis of state and local taxes across the country shows that Hawaii is the third-worst state when it comes to taxing struggling working families. Households in the lowest income category pay an effective tax rate of 14.1%, while the richest 1% pay an effective tax rate of 10.1%
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ITEP Work in Action February 1, 2023 Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center: Closing the Capital Gains Loophole
Eliminating the preferential tax treatment of capital gains income will increase tax fairness and help fund our future. Read more. -
ITEP Work in Action February 7, 2022 Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center: Expanding Economic Opportunity with the Hawai’i EITC
Hawai’i’s working families continue to struggle with the nation’s highest gap between median earnings and the cost of living, and this difficult reality has only been made harsher by the… -
ITEP Work in Action February 20, 2020 Hawai’i Budget and Policy Center: Hawai’i’s Earned Income Tax Credit: Next Steps
In 2017, Hawaiʻi passed legislation to create a state EITC.11 The new law allowed qualified taxpayers to claim a state tax credit beginning in 2018. The state tax credit amounts… -
media mention February 20, 2019 Hawai’i Public Radio: Corporate Tax Loophole Costs Hawaii $38 Million Annually
Hawaii lawmakers are missing out on millions in potential tax revenue. That is the conclusion of a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The ITEP found that a loophole… -
ITEP Work in Action October 25, 2018 The Garden Island: Gap Keeps Growing Between Rich, Poor
The study finds that those in the bottom fifth of the income spectrum in Hawaii pay 15 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while those in the top 1 percent pay only 8.9 percent, “which exacerbates inequality in our state,” according to a press release about the study.
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ITEP Work in Action October 24, 2018 Hawaii Public Radio: Hawaii Tax System Places Larger Burden on Low Income Residents
Low-income residents in Hawaii are paying a higher share of their income in taxes than higher level earners. That is the conclusion of a recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy titled Who Pays? The Hawaii tax system is considered highly regressive, due to heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax, or GET. This is despite a progressive, graded state income tax and the lowest property taxes in the nation.
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ITEP Work in Action October 23, 2018 Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center: Hawaii’s Tax System Exacerbates Inequality
A new report out from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) provides the vital statistics for each state’s tax system. It lays out, in clear and compelling numbers, the sobering message that Hawaiʻi taxes—and those in the United States on average—increase inequality between rich and poor.
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ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 Big Island Now: STUDY: Hawai‘i’s Low-Income Taxpayers Carry 2nd Highest Tax Rate
The main cause of the heavy tax burden on those making the least in Hawaiʻi is the General Excise Tax (GET). Families in the lowest fifth spend 10.5% of their meager incomes on the GET, while the top 1% spend only 1.2% of their large earnings. In other words, those at the bottom spend 8.75 times more of their income on the GET than do those at the top.
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media mention March 29, 2018 Hawaii News Now: Nonprofit to State on Tax Savings for Low-Income Families: Check Your Math
The state miscalculated the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to low-income families in Hawaii, a new analysis concludes. The source of the confusion: The scope of the tax savings that the child tax credit benefit would offer very low-income families (those earning up to $10,000 a year).
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media mention March 29, 2018 Honolulu Star Advertiser: New Tax Benefits Likely Overstated for Hawaii’s Poorest
A nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has estimated that Hawaii’s richest 1 percent, represented by households earning over $554,230, would save $39,420 on average next year under the new law. The group also figured that Hawaii taxpayers earning less than $26,620 would save $130 on average in taxes.
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ITEP Work in Action March 28, 2018 Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center: Effects of Federal Tax Cuts in Hawai‘i: Correcting the Record
Although corporate taxes are not reported on individual income tax forms, corporate tax cuts benefit those who own stocks, and the vast majority are owned by upper-income individuals. For that reason, ITEP included corporate tax breaks in its analysis of the federal tax law.
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ITEP Work in Action January 18, 2017 Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition: Tax Fairness Flyer
Hawaiʻi has the lowest wages in the nation after adjusting for our cost of living, which is the highest in the nation. We also place the 2nd highest tax burden… -
ITEP Work in Action January 18, 2017 Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition:
Hawaiʻi ranks second nationally in how heavily we tax our low-income households. In fact, we are in the minority of states that actually pushes low-income people deeper into poverty with… -
ITEP Work in Action April 15, 2016 Hawaii Appleseed: State of Poverty 2016
“In April 2016, the Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice released a report entitled “The State of Poverty in Hawai‘i: How Hawai‘i’s Residents Are Faring Post-Recovery.” The report… -
ITEP Work in Action February 10, 2016 Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Cutting Taxes to Strengthen the Economy and Boost Hawai’i’s Families: A Refundable State Earned Income Tax Credit
“Building a stronger Hawai‘i for businesses and residents means creating more opportunities for working families to climb the economic ladder. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a proven tool… -
ITEP Work in Action April 23, 2015 Hawaii Appleseed Center: Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest
When the top marginal tax rates and cap on itemized deductions expire in 2015, Hawaii’s wealthiest residents will see a windfall. Meanwhile, our working families are not scheduled to get… -
ITEP Work in Action December 20, 2013 Hawai’i Appleseed Center: Creating a Fairer State Tax System and Economy for All Families
Our state’s lower-income families are faced with almost insurmountable structural challenges to escaping poverty. They face the highest cost of living and highest cost of shelter in the nation, with… -
ITEP Work in Action January 15, 2013 Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Tax Policies That Will Help End Poverty for Hawai’i’s Lowest Income Families
THIS REPORT RECOMMENDS that the State of Hawai‘i adopt two tax measures to address the needs of low income individuals and families: 1. A refundable Hawai‘i Earned Income Tax Credit.… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Impact of Hawaii’s Income Tax on Low-Income Families
In the next few days, Hawaii’s legislature will consider the conference agreement on changes to Hawaii’s income tax, HB957. This agreement, which appears to have the support of legislative leadership… -
ITEP Work in Action December 17, 2012 Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: How the Great Recession disproportionately impacted Hawai’i’s disadvantaged and policy recommendations to achieve fairness
“THE HAWAI‘I APPLESEED CENTER for Law and Economic Justice has compiled this report to illustrate the crisis facing those living in poverty in Hawai‘i and who are suffering severely as…