Maui County has approximately 27,500 properties that are Owner occupied. And all but 146 of these property owners benefit from a $300,000 exemption and a much lower tax rate than any other property tax classification. To receive these benefits the owners of these properties must reside full time as Maui residents. The code defines this full time occupancy as 270 days per year.
Some of these owner occupied properties are strictly homes with no other uses taking place on the property. Many take advantage of Maui County code 19.67.40 and operate a home business that allows them to operate a variety of businesses like massage therapy, hair salons, professional services like law offices accounting, bookkeeping, consulting and a host of remote workers operate from their homes. As defined in code these business must be operated by the resident/owner and may have up to 1 employee, may use upto 40% of the home for business purposes and serve upto 2 customers at a time up to 16 customers a day. All of these home based businesses are taxed as owner occupied.
Some owner occupied properties located in business zones are made up of multiple buildings with some offering full retail stores or even food service and the entire property, including the commercial buildings are taxed at owner occupied tax rates, provided that at least a partial owner resides somewhere on the property.
Some Maui residents operate daycare or preschools for their homes and are not only taxed as owner occupied, but provided an additional exemption on top of the homeowner exemption
The only Maui resident home owners operating a home based business that is not taxed at owner occupied tax rates are the 146 Maui residents who have gone thru the process to be granted a B&B permit to use a portion, sometimes as little as a single bedroom to host guests in their homes, for less than 180 days at a time.
I am asking the Council to establish fairness for these Maui residents by establishing the tax rates in the Commercialized Residential tax classification to mirror the rates that are provided to all the other home based business operators in Maui County. While you cannot restore the home owner exemption to these homeowners, because that would take a change in the Bed and Breakfast ordinance, you can tax them more fairly
Over the 16 years since the Commercialized Residential tax classification was established and applied to my home, the increase in property tax that I have been asked to pay has risen from double and in this budget is proposed more than to triple the total tax I would pay if I was provided the same tax treatment as any other maui resident home based business owner would pay.
Please amend the range of rates proposed for the Commercialized Residential tax classification in the resolution for the tax hearing. The range of rates proposed in the draft agenda on granicus are very punitive and only allows this year’s rates to be increased over last year’s rates and leaves the Council no room for adjusting the rates down to a more equitable rate for the Owner occupied, Bed and Breakfast permit holders.
I would like to suggest a range of rates for Commercialized Residential
Tier 1 $0-$1,300,000 - $1.50 to $4.00 (same tier and lower end as owner occupied)
Tier 2 $1,300,000-$3,000,000 - $1.50 to $5.00 (same tier and lower end as OO)
Tier 3 over $3,000,000 - $3.00 to $8.00
I am advocating for Commercialized Residential tax rate to match the rates chosen for Owner Occupied, Since the property owners in the Commercialized residential classification are exclusively Maui County Residents who are REQUIRED to live full time in their homes, these residents should be eligible for an RPT rate that is the equivalent of any other Maui Resident Homeowner. The County Code requires that these resident homeowner lose their $300,000 homeowner exemption, but it does not restrict them from being charged a tax rate any greater than the Owner occupied tax rate. So please allow the range of rates for the Council to consider to include at least the same lower rate range as Owner occupied.
RPT tax rates for Maui Homeowners
Maui County has approximately 27,500 properties that are Owner occupied. And all but 146 of these property owners benefit from a $300,000 exemption and a much lower tax rate than any other property tax classification. To receive these benefits the owners of these properties must reside full time as Maui residents. The code defines this full time occupancy as 270 days per year.
Some of these owner occupied properties are strictly homes with no other uses taking place on the property. Many take advantage of Maui County code 19.67.40 and operate a home business that allows them to operate a variety of businesses like massage therapy, hair salons, professional services like law offices accounting, bookkeeping, consulting and a host of remote workers operate from their homes. As defined in code these business must be operated by the resident/owner and may have up to 1 employee, may use upto 40% of the home for business purposes and serve upto 2 customers at a time up to 16 customers a day. All of these home based businesses are taxed as owner occupied.
Some owner occupied properties located in business zones are made up of multiple buildings with some offering full retail stores or even food service and the entire property, including the commercial buildings are taxed at owner occupied tax rates, provided that at least a partial owner resides somewhere on the property.
Some Maui residents operate daycare or preschools for their homes and are not only taxed as owner occupied, but provided an additional exemption on top of the homeowner exemption
The only Maui resident home owners operating a home based business that is not taxed at owner occupied tax rates are the 146 Maui residents who have gone thru the process to be granted a B&B permit to use a portion, sometimes as little as a single bedroom to host guests in their homes, for less than 180 days at a time.
I am asking the Council to establish fairness for these Maui residents by establishing the tax rates in the Commercialized Residential tax classification to mirror the rates that are provided to all the other home based business operators in Maui County. While you cannot restore the home owner exemption to these homeowners, because that would take a change in the Bed and Breakfast ordinance, you can tax them more fairly
Over the 16 years since the Commercialized Residential tax classification was established and applied to my home, the increase in property tax that I have been asked to pay has risen from double and in this budget is proposed more than to triple the total tax I would pay if I was provided the same tax treatment as any other maui resident home based business owner would pay.
Please amend the range of rates proposed for the Commercialized Residential tax classification in the resolution for the tax hearing. The range of rates proposed in the draft agenda on granicus are very punitive and only allows this year’s rates to be increased over last year’s rates and leaves the Council no room for adjusting the rates down to a more equitable rate for the Owner occupied, Bed and Breakfast permit holders.
I would like to suggest a range of rates for Commercialized Residential
Tier 1 $0-$1,300,000 - $1.50 to $4.00 (same tier and lower end as owner occupied)
Tier 2 $1,300,000-$3,000,000 - $1.50 to $5.00 (same tier and lower end as OO)
Tier 3 over $3,000,000 - $3.00 to $8.00
I am advocating for Commercialized Residential tax rate to match the rates chosen for Owner Occupied, Since the property owners in the Commercialized residential classification are exclusively Maui County Residents who are REQUIRED to live full time in their homes, these residents should be eligible for an RPT rate that is the equivalent of any other Maui Resident Homeowner. The County Code requires that these resident homeowner lose their $300,000 homeowner exemption, but it does not restrict them from being charged a tax rate any greater than the Owner occupied tax rate. So please allow the range of rates for the Council to consider to include at least the same lower rate range as Owner occupied.