Update on changes to the Hawaii tax code

Even as I was blogging about Billy Kenoi's remarks to the state legislature, the House Finance Committee was finalizing its plans for changes to Hawaii's tax code to try to close the recession-caused gap in state revenues. A summary of the changes was emailed to news media late Tuesday night but it was complicated and I couldn't digest it in time to report it Wednesday morning. I hope to have it figured out in time for Thursday morning news. The main points seem to be temporary suspension of lots of tax credits and exemptions, and some new fees, but no increase in the excise tax rate, the personal tax rate, or the transient accommodations tax, better known as the hotel tax. The committee appears to have finessed the issue of sharing hotel tax revenues with counties, capping but not keeping the revenue. In other words, counties wouldn't get any more money than they've been getting, but they would still get that much. What the House Finance Committee approved now goes to the House floor, then crosses over to the state Senate, where changes could be made.