Can Hawaiʻi afford to cut the grocery tax?
Any proposal to reduce or remove the GET on food must be paired with a credible plan for replacing the revenue. It’s a challenge, but also an opportunity to build a fairer and more sustainable system.
Hawaiʻi’s 2025 legislature focused on raising tax revenue to prepare for federal cuts
Assessing a proper tax rate on corporations and the wealthy will be necessary to produce a budget that can fund critical safety net programs and investments in our future.
Congress’ budget blueprint leaves Hawaiʻi’s working families behind
In effect, the budget blueprint aims to take food out of the mouths of hungry keiki, so that billionaires can pad their pockets even more on the way to the bank.
Tax credits are more necessary than ever in 2025
Hawaiʻi’s families need urgent help to deal with the high cost of living. This is especially true for parents, who have to balance the cost of child care, rent, and food every month.
How a second Trump presidency could impact the pocket books of Hawaiʻi’s working families
Outside of the top 5 percent richest households, families will likely see significant tax increases, while the cost of consumer items would spike under proposed tariffs.
Census poverty data for 2023 highlights the importance of government assistance
Promising trends for families across the nation, but many continue to feel the lasting effects of widespread unemployment during the pandemic, a rising cost of living, and inadequate government assistance.
How Hawaiʻi’s hardworking undocumented immigrants support our economy and communities
A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy lifts up the significant tax contributions that undocumented immigrants make to our federal, state and local governments through the taxes they pay each year.
Hawaiʻi’s elected leaders buy-in to costly “trickle-down” myth
Passing an “historic” tax cut that mostly benefits the wealthiest Hawaiʻi residents is not the path to a healthy economy that works for working people.
The big budget trouble with HB2404’s over-broad and sweeping tax cuts
Last minute changes to the bill, made without public scrutiny, will increase its cost by nearly eight-fold, while higher-income households will get a far bigger benefit than those struggling to make ends meet.
Keiki poverty more than doubled last year without the expanded Child Tax Credit
Hawaiʻi lawmakers have an obvious solution at their disposal, if they are willing to act on it.
Lawmakers still need to equitably raise revenue to meet Hawaiʻi’s needs
On tax policy, state legislators made progress in 2023 with tax relief, but left smart, revenue-raising policy initiatives on the table for next session.
A Hawaiʻi Child Tax Credit would keep thousands of keiki out of poverty
After the expiration of the expanded federal Child Tax Credit, poverty rates spiked—it’s time for Hawaiʻi lawmakers to step up and fill the gap.
Opportunities for Hawaiʻi to maximize its budget investments
Maintaining government spending on public programs, Hawaiʻi’s workforce, and contractors for the state keeps money circulating throughout the economy as people pay for housing, food and other services.
How Hawaiʻi is funding its $24 billion FY23 budget
The legislature not only decides where money is spent, but also makes many of the decisions about who pays how much to support the budget.
Honolulu council should take time, consider whether Bill 45 is a good investment
While the stated purpose of Bill 45 is to promote economic growth, there is no way to show that providing the additional incentives in Bill 45 would be a cost-effective use of the city’s funds.
2022 legislative session: A big win for working families; but more must be done
Legislators adopted two priority economic justice policies to deliver a significant household income boost to hundreds of thousands of Hawaiʻi workers.
Now is the right time to expand Hawaiʻi’s Earned Income Tax Credit
In 2021, 12 states and D.C. recognized the devastating effects of the pandemic recession and improved their EITCs to support their working families. Hawaiʻi should join them.
Expanding economic opportunity with the Hawaiʻi EITC
Expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it refundable would put more money back in the pockets of Hawaiʻi's working families, strengthening the local economy.
Hawaiʻi budget challenges: tax revenues, fixed costs, state salaries
The pandemic’s effects on the economy will make passing a balanced budget more challenging than ever.
What’s included in the new federal coronavirus aid and what was left out?
The $900 billion COVID relief agreement provides urgently-needed relief to Hawaiʻi’s families, but the short timeline is worrisome and several important items were left out of the final deal.