Bill Text: HI HB887 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To General Excise Tax Exemption For Medical Services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-11 - Carried over to 2024 Regular Session. [HB887 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB887-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
887 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to general excise tax exemption for medical services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The
legislature finds that Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the
nation. The general excise tax is levied on nearly all economic
activity, which creates a highly regressive tax system by disproportionately
affecting low-income and middle-class families as a percentage of total
income. Although businesses are required to pay general excise taxes
out of their gross receipts, those taxes are passed on to customers in the form
of higher prices.
Health care is a
major expense for local families. Hawaii is one of only a handful of
states that taxes medical and dental services. Each physician
supports an average of $2.2 million in annual economic output and 13.84
jobs. Hawaii's tax policy burdens the ability of medical professionals
to support the local community and makes their services more expensive for
residents. Forty-one states generally exclude medical services from
their sales taxes.
Because the general
excise tax affects almost all areas of economic activity, it can make it
difficult for average families to afford basic life expenses like medical care.
The purpose of this Act is to help alleviate the general excise tax burden on
local households by exempting medical services.
SECTION 2. Chapter
237, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be
appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§237- Exemption
for medical services. (a) There shall be
exempted from, and excluded from the measure of, the taxes imposed by this
chapter all of the gross proceeds arising from the sale of medical services.
(b) As used in this section,
"medical services" means: Professional services provided by
hospitals, medical clinics and facilities that are licensed by the appropriate
state agencies and services are rendered under chapters 436E, 442, 447, 448,
448B, 451A, 451J, 451K, 452, 453, 453D, 455, 457, 457A, 457G, 458, 459, 461,
461J, 463E, 465, 465D, 466D, 466J, and 468E."
SECTION 3. In
codifying the new section added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of
statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in
designating the new sections in this Act.
SECTION 6. New
statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This act
shall take effect upon its approval and shall apply to taxable years beginning
after December 31, 2023.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
General Excise Tax; Medical Services, Exemption
Description:
Exempts medical services from the general excise tax.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
