Bill Text: HI HR39 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Resolution To Conduct A Study On The Benefits Of Employing A Luxury Tax In The State.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-11 - Referred to FIN, referral sheet 27 [HR39 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HR39-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	39
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE department of taxation TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON WHETHER A state LUXURY TAX WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO help with issues SUCH AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOMELESSNESS, AND EDUCATION costs.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, in the history of the United States, luxury taxes have been levied frequently to raise revenue; and

 

     WHEREAS, a progressive tax system acts as a tool for redistributing income from the upper class to lower and middle classes and helps keep the income gap from growing wider between the rich and the poor; and

 

     WHEREAS, a program of consumption taxes carefully targeted at luxury goods is a simple, reasonable way for society at large to recapture some of the massively asymmetrical spending power of society's most wealthy; and

 

     WHEREAS, distinguishing essential goods from luxury goods is a critical part of creating a workable progressive tax system that ensures that most of the tax burden falls on consumers who can afford to pay more, rather than on less fortunate consumers; and

 

     WHEREAS, luxury taxes can help the government to collect money from those who can afford to pay and use it to find solutions for widespread societal challenges, such as lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and a struggling public education system, and society as a whole benefits from this investment; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Taxation is requested to conduct a study on whether a state luxury tax would be beneficial to help with issues such as lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and adequately funding public education costs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Budget and Finance, and the Council on Revenues are requested to assist the Department of Taxation by providing information and data necessary for the study; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Taxation is requested to submit a report of its study, including findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the commencement of the 2017 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Taxation, Attorney General, Director of Finance, and the Chair of the Council on Revenues.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Resolution To Conduct A Study On The Benefits Of Employing A Luxury Tax In The State.