Hawaii
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Hawaii with 42.4 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Hawaii would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,262,200 in 2018. They would receive 42.4 percent of the tax cuts that go to Hawaii’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $71,280 in 2018 alone.
Two states are on the verge of embracing a tried and tested anti-poverty policy, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In the past two weeks, lawmakers in both Hawaii and Montana passed EITC legislation, which governors in both states are expected to sign. Once officially enacted, these states will join 26 other states and the […]
Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition: Tax Fairness Flyer
January 18, 2017
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 in the country on our low-income households. Faced with this one-two-three punch, almost half of our state’s residents are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Read more here
Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition:
January 18, 2017
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 taxes. As a result, nearly half of our state’s residents live paycheck-to-paycheck. Read more here
Hawaii Tribune Herald: Your Views for April 23
April 25, 2016
“In Hawaii, the top 1 percent pay just 7 percent of their income in taxes, while the middle class (80 percent of our people) pay about 12 percent. The poorest group (the bottom fifth of the population) pay a whooping 13.5 percent of the income in taxes because of the hidden GET (according to the […]
Hawaii Appleseed: State of Poverty 2016
April 15, 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 brings together the most recent available data to provide a snapshot of how low-income residents have fared after the economic recovery.” Read more
West Hawaii Today: Addressing inequality in Hawaii’s tax system
March 15, 2016
“In the course of our legislative session, our tax system has been roundly criticized for being unfair to those on the lower end of the income spectrum. In particular, a 2015 study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) asserts that the lowest 20 percent of our population pays 13.4 percent of its […]
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
February 10, 2016
“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 for fostering economic prosperity.” Read full report
Hawaii News Now: Film Tax Credits Attract Productions to Hawaii
July 28, 2015
The filming is almost finished for a new movie being shot entirely Hawaii. The state’s film tax credits are bringing in big productions like “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” but not everyone is a fan of the incentives. The tax credits are a waste of money, according to critics. “The closest thing to a […]
Hawaii Appleseed Center: Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest
April 23, 2015
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 any relief. Read the full report here.
KHON2: Hawaii resident’s tax burden one of the worst in the US
April 21, 2015
The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, or ITEP, found in its latest report that many taxes — including payroll taxes, sales taxes, and some state and local taxes — are regressive, which means they take more money out of the pockets of Americans in the lower- and middle-income brackets than from wealthier families. Click […]
Honolulu Civil Beat: Is This Really Fair Taxation?
April 21, 2015
The bill’s preamble language, which is supposed to give the reader some idea of what is motivating the law change proposal, states: According to the study “Who Pays: A Distribution Analysis of Tax Systems in All 50 States, Fifth Edition” (Institute of Taxation & Economic Policy, January 2015), Hawaii households with income in the lowest […]
Honolulu Star Advertiser: Isles Second Highest in Taxes on the Poor
January 20, 2015
Hawaii has the second-highest taxes on the poor and the 15th most unfair state and local tax systems in the country, according to a recent report from a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy issued its 2015 report “Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems” this week. The report […]
Pacific Business News: Hawaii second-worst state in taxing the poor, study says
January 15, 2015
“Hawaii is the second-worst state in terms of taxing its lowest-income residents, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. The study, titled “Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States,” found that Hawaii households […]
Honolulu Civil Beat: Low-Income Hawaii Residents Have Nearly Twice the Tax Rate as the Rich
January 15, 2015
“Hawaii taxes low-income people at nearly twice the rate as the richest people in the state, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. That makes Hawaii the second-worst state for taxing the poor, the analysis concluded.” Read more
The Garden Island: State tax system takes toll on low-income
January 15, 2015
“But there are some costs of living in the Aloha State that don’t always seem fair, and one of those costs is the focus of a new study released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. It found that Hawaii’s lowest income residents […]
The Garden Island: Licensed to drive
February 3, 2014
(Original Post) Bill would allow undocumented residents to acquire driver’s license Posted: Monday, February 3, 2014 2:00 am Tom LaVenture – The Garden Island LIHUE — Proposed legislation would amend state requirements to allow undocumented residents to qualify for a driver’s license in the interest of public safety, identification and insurance coverage. The “Safe and […]
Honolulu Civil Beat: It’s Time to Revamp Hawaii’s GET
January 17, 2014
(Original Post) By Victor Geminiani 01/16/2014 Hawaii taxes our residents in poverty more heavily than all but three other states in the nation. Most of this regressivity is caused by our heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax (GET), which generates half of all revenues collected by the state. Sales and excise taxes are the […]
Hawai’i Appleseed Center: Creating a Fairer State Tax System and Economy for All Families
December 20, 2013
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 three-quarters of extremely low-income people spending over half of their income on shelter. At the same time, our wages are the lowest in the nation […]
Honolulu Magazine: Dependence Day
July 3, 2013
(Original Post) The IRS scandal reached even Hawaii. But why worry when the IRS asks for a list of everyone who ever attended your events? Honolulu Magazine’s editor A. Kam Napier. The scandals have been piling up pretty deep this year, and its been strange to see Hawaii appear in two of them. The whole […]
Honolulu Star Advertiser: Staring Down Poverty
February 26, 2013
(Original Post) The recession has hit many hard, throwing more Hawaii families and individuals on the edge of poverty, if not completely onto the streets.
Hawaii Star Advertiser: Poor in Hawaii are taxed liberally
February 4, 2013
(Original Post) A new study by the nonpartisan Institute of Taxation and Policy ranks Hawaii fourth highest among the states in taxes on the poor, challenging the state’s reputation of being politically liberal.
Pacific Business News: Hawaii’s poorest residents pay highest share of income in taxes
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) Jan 30, 2013, 12:17pm HST Staff Pacific Business News Low- and middle-income families in Hawaii pay a larger share of taxes than the top 20 percent of earners in the Islands, ranking the state the fourth worst in the nation with a tax system that favors high earners, according to a study released […]
Honolulu Star Advertiser: Hawaii among most regressive states for taxation
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) By Erika Engle POSTED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013LAST UPDATED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013 Hawaii has been declared one of the “Terrible Ten” most regressive states for tax laws, by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, based in Wash., D.C. An ITEP study released today found that Hawaii […]
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Tax Policies That Will Help End Poverty for Hawai’i’s Lowest Income Families
January 15, 2013
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. We propose the Hawai‘i EITC be fixed at 20 percent of the taxpayer’s federal refundable earned income tax credit. 2. A non-refundable Hawai‘i Poverty Tax […]
