Death By A Thousand Cuts!
May 21st, 2009 categories: For Sellers
Like most municipalities, the City and County of Honolulu is falling short on the income side of budgetary planning. In other words, they have more expenses than they have income. Rather than cutting services, the City Council is attempting to increase property taxes. Yesterday’s Honolulu Advertiser reports.
“The latest tax plan offered by the Honolulu City Council Budget Committee would cost the average home-owning family about $32 more in property taxes next year, city officials said.
But whether it’s a plan a majority of council members will support to come up with a balanced $1.8 billion operating budget in the face of a $50 million shortfall remains uncertain.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER ARTICLE
Given the size City government, I am opposed to raising the property tax rate. We are at a point in our personal and governmental fiscal planning, that savings should come from reducing expenses rather than increasing taxes. Many of you may say, “It’s just $32 more per family that owns a home!” My response is that we have to take a look at the overall tax burden, not just the property tax. Let’s outline a few of the various taxes.
1. Income tax-the top bracket was just raised to 12% (the highest State tax in the nation).
2. General Excise Tax (GET)-raised a few years ago to 4.5%. If we were to replace this insidious tax with a true sales tax, economists say we would need a sales tax rate between 12% and 16% (this would be the highest in the nation too).
3. The GET applies to almost everything-Medical care, professional services, rent, food, and commercial rent; do you wonder why I say it is insidious?
4. Fees-the State and City supplies services, but if you need to take advantage of the services they offer, you are generally paying a fee at the time of consuming their service.
In ancient cultures, people would be executed in a particularly excruciating manner. The executioner would make small incisions (more than 1000) in the victim until death occurred. Thus the name “death by a 1,000 cuts”, our overall tax burden in the State of Hawaii is too high and we are being “nicked” to death. Enough already! Make the cuts on the expense side and leave the beleaguered taxpayer alone!
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Did you send this out to the legislature and city council idiots???? They are the only ones who aren’t feeling these cuts and nicks!!!