Half way into the current 2012 fiscal year, statewide general fund tax collections are up by 16.0% compared with the 2011 fiscal year.

Hawaii tax revenues were $1.2 billion for July through September, a 32.4% increase as compared to the same period a year ago, according an announcement Thursday by the Hawaii State Department of Taxation.

The state is seeking $170 million in unpaid hotel occupancy taxes they say is owed by online travel companies that furnish hotel rooms in the state.

Senate President Shan Tsutsui of Maui discussed plans for a regional park complex, the release of funds for the Maui Memorial Medical Center, and vowed to work towards maintaing Mauis share of the Transient Accomodations Tax.

By Wendy Osher The state legislature did not vote before Friday’s deadline on a proposal to take the county’s share of the Transient accommodation tax or TAT.  Now it’s a wait and see situation as county mayors across the state monitor the latest developments. “We’re not out of the woods quite yet,” said Maui Mayor [...]

By Wendy Osher Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares will testify today before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance at the State Capitol.  Tavares is expected to comment on House Bill 2598 Relating to Transient Accommodations Tax or TAT- which proposes to suspend the distribution of revenues to the counties.  The three year suspension, if approved, [...]

By Wendy Osher In her fourth State Of The County Address today, Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares challenged the state administration and the Legislature to examine other sources of revenue before cutting the counties share of income from the hotel room tax. Get the Flash Player to see this content. “Taking away the TAT revenue from [...]

The Maui County Council unanimously passed the FY2010 budget on second and final reading this morning.  The budget is $8.8 million less than the Mayor’s $573 million proposal, which translates to a 1.5% difference. Budget Chair Joe Pontanilla described the budget as austere and tight for both county departments and nonprofits, but also noted the [...]

The Maui County Council unanimously passed an amended budget on first reading this afternoon.  Council Chair Danny Mateo said that not everybody got what they wanted, but “during these tough economic times, the bottom line is to live within one’s means and take an efficient approach.” The council reinstated $4 million in funding for road [...]

More than a dozen people signed up to testify today on the county budget as the council resumes deliberations in the hopes of finalizing the document. The council had trimmed $18 million from the budget earlier this month amid uncertainty over access to the county’s share of the transient accommodation tax (TAT). Since then, a [...]