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All through September, 2018, when you visit your local Safeway location in Hawaiʻi, you’ll see signs advertising the annual Hunger Is fundraiser, sponsored by the Albertsons Companies Foundation. When you checkout with your cashier, you’ll have the option to donate to this important fundraiser aimed at expanding participation in school breakfast programs and combating childhood hunger. The foundation has once again selected Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, …

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) recently released a report, “The Impact of the Federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) on Hawai‘i Households,” which analyzed the effects of the new federal tax law on Hawai‘i households in 2018.  This report, which was featured in an article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, concluded that the lowest-income taxpayers in Hawai‘i would see large savings from the TCJA, while those at the top would pay more.…

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Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice Releases “Hawai?i Vacation Rentals: Impact on Housing & Hawai?i’s Economy”

Honolulu, HI, MARCH 22, 2018 — The Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice is releasing a report entitled “Hawai?i Vacation Rentals: Impact on Housing & Hawai?i’s Economy,” which explores the consequences…

Contact:
Nicole Woo
nicole@hiappleseed.org
808-369-2512

Honolulu, February 8, 2018 — In the first-ever school-by-school report on school breakfast participation in the state of Hawai‘i, 15 schools were named “School Breakfast Champions.” These schools met or exceeded a national standard for high participation in school breakfast among low-income students.

In the most…

Mahalo to our sponsors, artists, attendees, volunteers, and everyone else who made Artists for Appleseed a success! The event wouldn’t have been possible without your generous support.

Another congratulations to this year’s Good Apple award recipient, Chris Hecht and Kona Pacific Public Charter School, for the tremendous work they’ve done to curb child hunger.

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Hawai‘i Appleseed is creating a new center focused on research and analysis of state budget and tax policy—the Hawai‘i Budget and Policy Center (HBPC). On August 24th, we had the opportunity to provide a preview of the HBPC at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s .

Nick Johnson from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based in Washington D.C., discussed how proposed federal budget and tax policies will affect Hawai‘i.

Hawai‘i Appleseed Co-Directors Victor Geminiani and Gavin Thornton followed up with…

On July 10, 2017, Governor David Ige signed HB 209, a bill creating a non-refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) worth up to 20 percent of the federal EITC. With this new law, Hawai‘i joins 28 other states and D.C. in offering a state-level EITC to help working families keep more of their earnings.

It is estimated that the new tax credit will provide $130 million in tax relief for low-income and working-class families over its first 6…

Over the past several months, we have been working with the tenants of Front Street Apartments, a 142-unit complex in Lahaina that houses 300 low-income residents. The complex was built in 2001 using low-income housing tax credits with the stipulation that it would remain affordable for 50 years.

On May 2nd, the Senate and House voted to pass HB 209, putting us just one step away from a Working Family Credit in Hawaii, and greater tax fairness for low-income residents. House Speaker Scott Saiki has labeled the passage of the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as the “most consequential work in the last few years to reduce poverty and Hawai?i’s high cost of living.”
 
Hawai’i Appleseed led the effort to get the EITC (or “Working Family…