Re: Tax Hike for Rail?
I don't envy Lingle. It's a tight spot. No one wants to be the next Rene Mansho -- you know, the single person to torpedo yet another exhaustive attempt at passing something to have a chance at some federal dollars to address transportation on a macro scale.
With this bill, she has an 'out' in that it's the counties that will be raising your taxes. Honolulu's already got the John Q. Taxpayer check drafted and is ready to go, but who knows, maybe the other counties will take a longer look at it. I'm pretty sure they'll also want to invest in public transportation, though. They've been stuck in TheBus' shadow for too long.
The fact that the state will have to administer the higher tax collection is certainly a pain in the butt, and gives the counties an out in that the 'tax' line on all your receipts will still have the state's name on it. But I do think it's simpler than expecting individual counties to suddenly develop a collection system and for all receipts to have a second line for 'tax' - talk about adding insult to injury.
As someone who's wanted to see rail in Honolulu since he was six years old or so, I fall into the "about damn time" camp. (Though I don't have it in front of me, Howard Dicus wrote a pretty succinct pro-rail piece in the Pacific Business Newsa few weeks back.) That's not to say, however, that I don't think this is going to hurt. Damn straight taxes suck. But it'd have hurt less if we got it over with in the '80s, and you bet your sweet bippy it'll hurt more if we wait another 15 years.
I don't envy Lingle. It's a tight spot. No one wants to be the next Rene Mansho -- you know, the single person to torpedo yet another exhaustive attempt at passing something to have a chance at some federal dollars to address transportation on a macro scale.
With this bill, she has an 'out' in that it's the counties that will be raising your taxes. Honolulu's already got the John Q. Taxpayer check drafted and is ready to go, but who knows, maybe the other counties will take a longer look at it. I'm pretty sure they'll also want to invest in public transportation, though. They've been stuck in TheBus' shadow for too long.
The fact that the state will have to administer the higher tax collection is certainly a pain in the butt, and gives the counties an out in that the 'tax' line on all your receipts will still have the state's name on it. But I do think it's simpler than expecting individual counties to suddenly develop a collection system and for all receipts to have a second line for 'tax' - talk about adding insult to injury.
As someone who's wanted to see rail in Honolulu since he was six years old or so, I fall into the "about damn time" camp. (Though I don't have it in front of me, Howard Dicus wrote a pretty succinct pro-rail piece in the Pacific Business Newsa few weeks back.) That's not to say, however, that I don't think this is going to hurt. Damn straight taxes suck. But it'd have hurt less if we got it over with in the '80s, and you bet your sweet bippy it'll hurt more if we wait another 15 years.
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