Hawaii Senate passes what’s poised to be the nation’s highest income tax
If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes could be going up.
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - State senators advanced a bill that would make Hawaii’s income tax the highest in the country. But not everyone would see their taxes go up.
The tax rate would jump from 11% to 16% percent for individual filers making over $200,000 a year, or for household heads making $300,000 or more.
Capital gains and corporate income taxes would also go up. Certain GET exemptions would be repealed. Senate Bill 56 would also increase conveyance taxes for the sale of properties valued at $1 million or more.
State lawmakers have struggled to find a way to make up the shortfall in revenue brought on by the pandemic. Gov. Ige considered furloughs at one point, but has since backed off from that.
“With a budget shortfall of over $2 billion, we need to look at various ways to generate much needed revenue for our State,” said Sen. Chang who introduced the bill said. “In order to avoid future furloughs and layoffs for State workers, we need to consider every option to prevent disruptions to essential government services.
The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
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