Hawaiʻi tax system places larger burden on low income residents

Low-income residents in Hawaiʻi are paying a higher share of their income in taxes than higher level earners. That is the conclusion of a recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy titled Who Pays? The Hawaiʻi tax system is considered highly regressive, due to heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax, or GET. This is despite a progressive, graded state income tax and the lowest property taxes in the nation. 

The Conversaton’s Ryan Finnerty spoke with Beth Giesting of the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center to take a look at how Hawaiʻi’s tax burden is shifted to lower income earners.