I am in full support of the tax initiative. We need to ask those who profit from Maui to return the costs. If we allow unchecked abuse of our resources we will soon find we are over-extended with respect to our infrastructure. Maui will not be the desired destination for tourists and we will have more vacant buildings that we have now.
BUDGET, FINANCE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, meeting Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Testimony in support of “A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE REAL PROPERTY TAX LONG-TERM RENTAL CLASSIFICATION.”
Committee Chair Keani N.W. Rawlins-Fernandez Committee Vice-Chair Tamara Paltin Voting Members: Gabe Johnson Tasha Kama Kelly Takaya King Alice L. Lee Michael J. Molina Shane M. Sinenci Yuki Lei K. Sugimura
Hello Council members,
My name is David Dorn, a Kihei resident and I am not a lobbyist.
I support this bill.
I think it is important for all people to pay their fair share of taxes and contribute to the community where they live, or in this case “invest and operate”.
Too many people are buying second homes and many are renting them out.
There are an estimated 5000 second homes on Maui that could are either rented or used as vacation homes. And these properties should be added to the total number of visitor accommodations, which would bring our total closer to 30K “visitor” accommodations.
A second home is a luxury, and it is not a necessity like a first home is.
So there should be a distinction made between the two. And they should be taxed differently. Second homes and investment properties should be taxed at a higher rate then first homes, that are owner-occupied.
Many houses are being bought sight unseen, for investment or as a vacation home, or for a Covid pandemic getaway.
Maui house prices are still far cheaper than many parts of the mainland, for example San Francisco, so it is a no-brainer for mainlanders to come and buy up all our condos, homes, and mansions.
Mansions are not being built for wealthy locals: Mansions are not being built because there is a demand from the growing numbers of upwardly-mobile financially-affluent Maui residents. Maui wages did not suddenly spike up, and the majority of local people working two jobs cannot suddenly afford to move into a mansion. They are being built for wealthy mainlanders. So we need to build more mid-range houses, and affordable homes for local people. We need to slow down the creation of high-end luxury condos, mansions, and gentlemen’s estates. We need real houses for real locals.
Most Maui residents are getting poorer, not richer. Maui residents are having a hard time even qualifying for affordable home. Because whenever a rich mainlander moves here the neighborhood AMI for the neighborhood goes up. This makes it harder and harder for the majority of real locals to get approved for loans.
Developers want us to pay for their amenities when they build affordable or workforce homes, to help them make the “numbers pencil out”, and that would be okay if we really get the benefit of real affordable homes for locals.
But developers can also sell our affordable homes to mainlanders. There is no legal requirement forcing them to sell locals, and many mainlanders have no trouble qualifying for loans.
And if locals do not buy these affordable/workforce homes in 90days, the developers can sell these houses to anyone at full market prices. And developers keep the extra profit they make from not paying for sidewalks, drains, and infrastructure.
Developers should be forced to payback for the waived infrastructure fees, all the homes not sold to locals as affordable prices. That is only fair. Otherwise our tax money goes into the pockets of the developers, and the mainlanders get killer deals on homes intended for locals.
Our State did not come up with the 201H and other similar affordable housing rules to make houses cheaper for mainlanders to move here, or to make increased profits for developers. So we must always remember that the intention of these rules are to make affordable housing available for our local community.
Developers should not be getting our public money and waived fees, and waived restrictions, if they do not actually sell these homes as affordable homes. We need to make that part of the rules.
Otherwise we are creating a financial incentive for developers to not sell these homes as affordable, and wait to sell them at full price. One way they can force this to happen, by rejecting applications from people with low credit scores who are only able to qualify for certain types of loans. They can also force this issue, by having a short window for local people to qualify for loans. The qualification period for affordable homes should be a minimum 180 days (6 months).
If the developer wants to sell the houses faster to mainlanders, then they must be made to repay us for the cash incentives they received, and compensate our community for the lost benefits of not adding an affordable home to our community.
When builders build mansions to cash-in on house-pricing disparities, they are also driving a migration of mainlanders who come here. This creates problems for our island that is already becoming crowded, and because our island has incomplete and insufficient infrastructure and amenities.
All of these people come here to stay in mansions, invest in second homes, and vacation homes, are using up our precious water, they are flushing toilets, driving on crowded roads, parking at all the beaches, and adding to our congestion. Anyone can see that there are more cars on the road with out of state license plates, and more people who are filling up our public spaces.
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, people with second homes, and investments homes, need to help us pay for our infrastructure, and we actually need to build that infrastructure. Our infrastructure is essential for the health and safety of our community.
We need to raise the taxes on these luxury accommodations, and investment properties, and use the money to build batter roads, more beach parking, more public amenities, and put sidewalks, curbs and drains on our streets.
But we must not use this money for other things, like pay increases for public servants, This money needs to be spent on actual infrastructure and amenities.
Many parts North Kihei still have no sidewalks, curbs, or stormwater drains, right now, and local people have been walking on the roadways for 60 years.
By comparison Wailea already had underground utilities, and a wide, manicured, landscaped, greenway, boulevard, before there were houses (or mansions) built on empty lots. How is this fair?
In conclusion, Please support this bill to raise taxes on second homes, and please make sure that that money goes to actually creating infrastructure, and if it is to be allocated to an affordable housing fund for amenities, Please make sure that these houses are actually being sold as affordable houses to locals, so that all this money doesn’t go into the pockets of developers or mainlanders buying up our homes.
I am in favor of an increase in property taxes on hotels, non-owner occupied luxury homes and especially short term rental properties. The extra monies are needed for safe affordable housing for full time Maui residents and to maintain infrastructure before the tourists cause more damage and use up the resources of Maui. Mahalo
I strongly support the tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties introduced by Councilmember Johnson. This is a good start. We have a lot of work to do and I look forward to more proposals being introduced that put Maui County residents first.
Aloha, my name is Helga Fiederer, I have lived on Maui for 40 yrs. It it painful to see so many working families and individuals struggling so hard just to survive here. I am in support of a tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties to help finance affordable housing. Thank you!
i support the tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties. i echo the comments of the other comments that are in support of this increase. Our tax rates are low - which is great for me, kupuna on social security - but awful at the same time - as it attracts investors and transplants who really donʻt have the best interests of our culture and ʻāina in their purchases.
Aloha,
My name is Duke Johnson and I own a renovation/construction company that serves mostly hotels, condos and luxury homes owned by off-island owners. Even though i earn my living serving the owners of these properties, I fully support a 5-6% tax increase on their properties. They can afford it. Many of them may complain about it in the short term, but they will pay it because this is Maui, and the wealthy will pay to live here. Many of these property owners remodel their homes regularly, or buy a property and gut it just because they donʻt like the color of the cabinets. It pains me to work for investors who have so much to spend on small details, while I canʻt afford my own home. Please approve this tax increase.
Aloha Council!
I am a 40 year resident who strongly supports increasing the tax on investment properties to 6% - to help solve the terrible housing crisis facing lifelong Maui residents.
Folks are really suffering, please show leadership to help solve this problem and level the playing field for regular people.
Good day!
I extremely support Councilmember Johnson's proposals including funding for Aloha House, Mental Health Kokua, Lahaina LEAD program, and etc.
Working people of Lanai are in need of affordable housing.
Aloha, I am in strong support of Council Member Johnson’s proposal to increase property taxes on investment properties. Maui Counties property tax rates are the lowest in the country and this has resulted in offshore investors turning our neighborhoods into investment portfolios and the building of gated ghost towns that provide little benefit to the residents of Maui.
Current events show that people will visit and invest in Maui no matter what barriers are in place so it is up to Maui county government to slow this “bull market” by every means that their disposal.
Aloha! I fully support and strongly encourage money for the restoration of Ka'ahumanu Church. With all the inevitable modernization of the town of Wailuku, just seeing the historic beauty of Ka'ahumanu Church touches the heart. With all people have gone through during this trying time of the Covid virus, it will feed the heart and soul to see this beautiful Church restored. Please give this beautiful historic place of worship the support is needs and deserves. Mahalo! Joann McGinn
I am in full support of the tax initiative. We need to ask those who profit from Maui to return the costs. If we allow unchecked abuse of our resources we will soon find we are over-extended with respect to our infrastructure. Maui will not be the desired destination for tourists and we will have more vacant buildings that we have now.
BUDGET, FINANCE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, meeting Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Testimony in support of “A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE REAL PROPERTY TAX LONG-TERM RENTAL CLASSIFICATION.”
Committee Chair Keani N.W. Rawlins-Fernandez Committee Vice-Chair Tamara Paltin Voting Members: Gabe Johnson Tasha Kama Kelly Takaya King Alice L. Lee Michael J. Molina Shane M. Sinenci Yuki Lei K. Sugimura
Hello Council members,
My name is David Dorn, a Kihei resident and I am not a lobbyist.
I support this bill.
I think it is important for all people to pay their fair share of taxes and contribute to the community where they live, or in this case “invest and operate”.
Too many people are buying second homes and many are renting them out.
There are an estimated 5000 second homes on Maui that could are either rented or used as vacation homes. And these properties should be added to the total number of visitor accommodations, which would bring our total closer to 30K “visitor” accommodations.
A second home is a luxury, and it is not a necessity like a first home is.
So there should be a distinction made between the two. And they should be taxed differently. Second homes and investment properties should be taxed at a higher rate then first homes, that are owner-occupied.
Many houses are being bought sight unseen, for investment or as a vacation home, or for a Covid pandemic getaway.
Maui house prices are still far cheaper than many parts of the mainland, for example San Francisco, so it is a no-brainer for mainlanders to come and buy up all our condos, homes, and mansions.
Mansions are not being built for wealthy locals: Mansions are not being built because there is a demand from the growing numbers of upwardly-mobile financially-affluent Maui residents. Maui wages did not suddenly spike up, and the majority of local people working two jobs cannot suddenly afford to move into a mansion. They are being built for wealthy mainlanders. So we need to build more mid-range houses, and affordable homes for local people. We need to slow down the creation of high-end luxury condos, mansions, and gentlemen’s estates. We need real houses for real locals.
Most Maui residents are getting poorer, not richer. Maui residents are having a hard time even qualifying for affordable home. Because whenever a rich mainlander moves here the neighborhood AMI for the neighborhood goes up. This makes it harder and harder for the majority of real locals to get approved for loans.
Developers want us to pay for their amenities when they build affordable or workforce homes, to help them make the “numbers pencil out”, and that would be okay if we really get the benefit of real affordable homes for locals.
But developers can also sell our affordable homes to mainlanders. There is no legal requirement forcing them to sell locals, and many mainlanders have no trouble qualifying for loans.
And if locals do not buy these affordable/workforce homes in 90days, the developers can sell these houses to anyone at full market prices. And developers keep the extra profit they make from not paying for sidewalks, drains, and infrastructure.
Developers should be forced to payback for the waived infrastructure fees, all the homes not sold to locals as affordable prices. That is only fair. Otherwise our tax money goes into the pockets of the developers, and the mainlanders get killer deals on homes intended for locals.
Our State did not come up with the 201H and other similar affordable housing rules to make houses cheaper for mainlanders to move here, or to make increased profits for developers. So we must always remember that the intention of these rules are to make affordable housing available for our local community.
Developers should not be getting our public money and waived fees, and waived restrictions, if they do not actually sell these homes as affordable homes. We need to make that part of the rules.
Otherwise we are creating a financial incentive for developers to not sell these homes as affordable, and wait to sell them at full price. One way they can force this to happen, by rejecting applications from people with low credit scores who are only able to qualify for certain types of loans. They can also force this issue, by having a short window for local people to qualify for loans. The qualification period for affordable homes should be a minimum 180 days (6 months).
If the developer wants to sell the houses faster to mainlanders, then they must be made to repay us for the cash incentives they received, and compensate our community for the lost benefits of not adding an affordable home to our community.
When builders build mansions to cash-in on house-pricing disparities, they are also driving a migration of mainlanders who come here. This creates problems for our island that is already becoming crowded, and because our island has incomplete and insufficient infrastructure and amenities.
All of these people come here to stay in mansions, invest in second homes, and vacation homes, are using up our precious water, they are flushing toilets, driving on crowded roads, parking at all the beaches, and adding to our congestion. Anyone can see that there are more cars on the road with out of state license plates, and more people who are filling up our public spaces.
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, people with second homes, and investments homes, need to help us pay for our infrastructure, and we actually need to build that infrastructure. Our infrastructure is essential for the health and safety of our community.
We need to raise the taxes on these luxury accommodations, and investment properties, and use the money to build batter roads, more beach parking, more public amenities, and put sidewalks, curbs and drains on our streets.
But we must not use this money for other things, like pay increases for public servants, This money needs to be spent on actual infrastructure and amenities.
Many parts North Kihei still have no sidewalks, curbs, or stormwater drains, right now, and local people have been walking on the roadways for 60 years.
By comparison Wailea already had underground utilities, and a wide, manicured, landscaped, greenway, boulevard, before there were houses (or mansions) built on empty lots. How is this fair?
In conclusion, Please support this bill to raise taxes on second homes, and please make sure that that money goes to actually creating infrastructure, and if it is to be allocated to an affordable housing fund for amenities, Please make sure that these houses are actually being sold as affordable houses to locals, so that all this money doesn’t go into the pockets of developers or mainlanders buying up our homes.
Mahalo for hearing my testimony,
David Dorn
This would help working class people in Hawaii, and contribute to more equitable housing on Maui. We desperately need more affordable housing funding!
We need housing so badly. No more hotels. Houses.
I am in favor of an increase in property taxes on hotels, non-owner occupied luxury homes and especially short term rental properties. The extra monies are needed for safe affordable housing for full time Maui residents and to maintain infrastructure before the tourists cause more damage and use up the resources of Maui. Mahalo
I strongly support the tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties introduced by Councilmember Johnson. This is a good start. We have a lot of work to do and I look forward to more proposals being introduced that put Maui County residents first.
Aloha, my name is Helga Fiederer, I have lived on Maui for 40 yrs. It it painful to see so many working families and individuals struggling so hard just to survive here. I am in support of a tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties to help finance affordable housing. Thank you!
i support the tax increase of 5-6% on investment/rental properties. i echo the comments of the other comments that are in support of this increase. Our tax rates are low - which is great for me, kupuna on social security - but awful at the same time - as it attracts investors and transplants who really donʻt have the best interests of our culture and ʻāina in their purchases.
I support raising the property tax on investment properties to support Maui's infrastructure and affordable/workforce housing.
Amy Stephens, Napili
Aloha,
My name is Duke Johnson and I own a renovation/construction company that serves mostly hotels, condos and luxury homes owned by off-island owners. Even though i earn my living serving the owners of these properties, I fully support a 5-6% tax increase on their properties. They can afford it. Many of them may complain about it in the short term, but they will pay it because this is Maui, and the wealthy will pay to live here. Many of these property owners remodel their homes regularly, or buy a property and gut it just because they donʻt like the color of the cabinets. It pains me to work for investors who have so much to spend on small details, while I canʻt afford my own home. Please approve this tax increase.
Aloha Council!
I am a 40 year resident who strongly supports increasing the tax on investment properties to 6% - to help solve the terrible housing crisis facing lifelong Maui residents.
Folks are really suffering, please show leadership to help solve this problem and level the playing field for regular people.
Mahalo,
Shannon Rudolph
Good day!
I extremely support Councilmember Johnson's proposals including funding for Aloha House, Mental Health Kokua, Lahaina LEAD program, and etc.
Working people of Lanai are in need of affordable housing.
Mahalo!
Aloha, I am in strong support of Council Member Johnson’s proposal to increase property taxes on investment properties. Maui Counties property tax rates are the lowest in the country and this has resulted in offshore investors turning our neighborhoods into investment portfolios and the building of gated ghost towns that provide little benefit to the residents of Maui.
Current events show that people will visit and invest in Maui no matter what barriers are in place so it is up to Maui county government to slow this “bull market” by every means that their disposal.
Aloha! I fully support and strongly encourage money for the restoration of Ka'ahumanu Church. With all the inevitable modernization of the town of Wailuku, just seeing the historic beauty of Ka'ahumanu Church touches the heart. With all people have gone through during this trying time of the Covid virus, it will feed the heart and soul to see this beautiful Church restored. Please give this beautiful historic place of worship the support is needs and deserves. Mahalo! Joann McGinn