Supporters hope that the tax, long in the making, would help solve Honolulu’s housing affordability crisis. 

“I think that Bill 46 is a step in the right direction in trying to get rid of, or, trying to disincentivize people from speculating on homes and leaving them empty instead of allowing people to live in it,” Ben Sadowski from Unite Here Local 5 testified. 

The idea is to create more housing by taxing thousands of property owners who have bought homes they don’t live in and don’t rent out solely to serve as investments. An empty homes tax would incentivize them to either sell the property or rent it out, increasing the supply of homes on Oʻahu and therefore lowering the prices. 

And if a property owner chooses not to sell their empty home, that would mean more revenue for the city to spend toward constructing more affordable housing, among other things. At 3 percet, annual revenue could be about $180 million, according to a recent estimate from Hawaiʻi Appleseed. 

The City Council has discussed passing an empty homes tax for years, and top elected officials including both Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Council Chair Tommy Waters have expressed their support as far back as 2020.