THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	103
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE TAX REVIEW COMMISSION TO UPDATE THE STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF STATE AND LOCAL TAX BURDEN BY INCOME CLASS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, it is anticipated that a Tax Review Commission will be convened pursuant to article VII, section 3, of the State Constitution; and

 

     WHEREAS, the basic duties of the Commission are to evaluate the State's tax structure and recommend revenue and tax policy; and

 

     WHEREAS, an issue that requires evaluation by the Tax Review Commission is the distribution of state and local tax burden by income class; and

 

     WHEREAS, Professors Walter Miklius, James Moncur, and PingSun Leung published the study "Distribution of State and Local Tax Burden by Income Class" in 1989 for the Tax Review Commission; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Miklius, et al., study is a seminal work on the incidence of the various state and county taxes and extent of progressivity or regressivity of the taxes; and

 

     WHEREAS, data from the Miklius, et al., study continues to be cited in contemporary times, particularly the findings that approximately thirty per cent of the general excise tax revenues is exported to tourists and others and that the general excise tax is regressive; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Miklius, et al., study is more than twenty-five years old; and

 

     WHEREAS, more recent data of quality and relevance are needed for the Legislature and state administration to make the best decisions on revenue and tax policy; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Tax Review Commission is requested to conduct or commission a study updating the distribution of state and local tax burden by income class; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tax Review Commission is requested to require the study to correspond as much as possible to the methodology of the 1989 study by Miklius, et al., "Distribution of State and Local Tax Burden by Income Class," to enable a comparison of the findings of both studies; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tax Review Commission is requested to submit the study to the Legislature and Governor with the Commission's Final Report under article VII, section 3, of the State Constitution; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Tax Review Commission.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Tax Review Commission; Distribution of State and Local Tax Burden by Income Class