The Honolulu City Council will hold a special meeting Friday regarding real property tax relief for residents.
This latest special Council meeting — only days ahead of the panel’s regularly scheduled meeting July 12 — follows a hearing in early June involving the Council subcommittee tasked with providing relief to property owners affected by the approximately 10% or greater increase in real property tax assessments on Oahu.
Over seven meetings that reportedly ran between
May 1 and May 31, the Council’s Permitted Interaction Group, or PIG — comprised of Chair Tommy Waters, Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina, Radiant Cordero and Matt Weyer — offered options taken from a slew of potential real property tax bills addressing such things as long-term rental classifications or exemptions, modification to real property tax credits, and homeowner exemptions and amendments to real property tax rate classifications, among
others.
Out of this effort, the subcommittee on Friday is expected to review a report of its findings, likely for full Council discussion.
Meanwhile, at the same meeting, the full Council also is expected to preside over the third and final readings for two measures introduced in 2022: Bills 37 and 40.
As drafted, Bill 37 — targeted toward low-income earners — would increase the income eligibility threshold from $60,000 to $80,000 toward a real property tax credit. The measure would allow those eligible to see their tax capped at 3% of their income.
Likewise, Bill 40 would increase the homeowners
exemption from $100,000 to $120,000 and raise the senior exemption from $140,000 to $160,000.
“This special meeting is crucial because, if these measures are passed, we want to make sure the City is able to give information to homeowners on how to apply,” Waters told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email.
He added that the Council must act quickly as annual real property tax assessments are issued by the city at the beginning of July.
“And this is the only opportunity before the Sept. 30 deadline to get the word out to as many homeowners as possible,” he said. “As a Council, we have prioritized real property tax relief, and while changing the law is crucial, ensuring that homeowners have the information they need to apply is equally as important. By having this special meeting, we will be able to ensure that we are able to inform taxpayers before the
Sept. 30 deadline.”
If the measures are approved, the city would send public notices informing residents of the new laws, he said.
At a prior special Council meeting on June 7, members of the public spoke on the
issue of tax relief.
Among them, resident Choon James said the main thing to consider with tax relief measures was “whether we want to help our local residents stay here, and to continue to stay here, or
be pushed out through
gentrification.”
“It’s ironic to say that even those who are making $100,000 are struggling in Hawaii,” she added. “So it seems everybody is needy except the super-affluent.”
The special Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. inside City Council Chambers.
