With passage of the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year Budget for the City & County of Honolulu, City Council Members can now focus attention on revenue-generating and cost-reduction initiatives. Specifically, a number of property tax measures have been introduced and deserve discussion to determine possible impact.
Bill 61 introduced by Council Member Ernie Martin establishes two new property tax classifications for Transient Vacation Rentals and Bed-and-Breakfasts. Theoretically, the City could assign a higher tax rate on those properties possibly higher than the residential rate but lower than the resort/hotel rate.
Bill 65 introduced by Council Member Ann Kobayashi amends the ordinance providing disabled property owners an exemption from property taxes. The bill would require that disabled owners meet low income requirements set at 80 percent of the median income level and that the property is the principal residence for the person.
Bill 52 introduced by Council Member Ikaika Anderson would increase the minimum real property tax paid on historic properties from $300 to $1000.
Bills 41 and 48 introduced by Martin and Anderson would repeal the Residential A classification. But Bill 48 goes further by creating a new property tax classification for luxury condominiums, especially those sprouting up in Kakaako.
HBR expects a number of other revenue generating proposals to be considered by City Council.
