logo
Hawaii lawmakers raise the state's hotel tax to help the islands cope with climate change

Hawaii lawmakers raise the state's hotel tax to help the islands cope with climate change

Independent02-05-2025

Hawaii lawmakers passed on Friday first-of-its-kind legislation that will increase the state's lodging tax to raise money for environmental protection and strengthening defenses against climate change -fueled natural disasters.
Gov. Josh Green supports the bill, indicating he will sign it. The bill adds a 0.75% levy to the state's existing tax on hotel rooms, timeshares, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations. It also imposes a new 11% tax on cruise ship bills, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports.
Officials estimate the tax will generate nearly $100 million annually. They say the money will be used for projects like replenishing sand on eroding Waikiki beaches, promoting the use of hurricane clips to secure roofs during powerful storms and clearing flammable invasive grasses like those that fed the deadly wildfire that destroyed downtown Lahaina in 2023.
The House and Senate, both controlled by large majorities of Democrats, both passed the measure Friday.
Experts say this is the nation's first state lodging tax that raises money for the environment and coping with climate change.
Hawaii already levies a 10.25% tax on short-term rentals. As of Jan. 1, the tax will rise to 11%. Hawaii's counties separately charge a 3% lodging tax, and travelers also have to pay the 4.712% general excise tax that applies to all virtually all goods and services. The cumulative tax bill at checkout will climb to 18.712%, among the highest in the nation.
Green said people have told him the increase is small enough people won't notice. He observed many people come to Hawaii to enjoy the environment and predicted they will welcome committing dollars to protect shorelines and communities.
'The more you cultivate good environmental policy, and the more you invest in perfecting our lived space, the more likely it is we're going to have actually lifelong, committed travelers to Hawaii,' he said in an interview.
Only funds raised by the 0.75% addition and the new tax on cruise ship stays will go exclusively toward natural resources and climate change. Revenue from existing state lodging taxes would continue to flow into state's general fund and to help pay for the construction of Honolulu 's rail line.
John Pele, the executive director of the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association, said there's broad agreement that the money raised will go to a good cause. But he wonders if Hawaii will become too expensive for visitors.
'Will we be taxing on tourists out of wanting to come here?' he said. 'That remains to be seen.'
The first draft of the legislation called for a larger increase, but lawmakers pared it back.
'We heard the concerns about how do we make sure that we are able to sustain our industry as well as find new resources to address the needs for environmental sustainability,' said Democratic Rep. Linda Ichiyama, vice speaker of the House. 'So it was a balance.'
Zane Edleman, a visitor from Chicago, said he could envision the extra cost prompting some travelers to head elsewhere else like Florida. But he said it would depend on how the state shares information about what it does with the money.
'If you really focus on the point —this is to save the climate and actually have proof that this is where the funds are going, and that there's an actual result that's happening from that, I think people could buy into it,' Edleman said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'There is no Plan B': Republicans make a daring bet on the debt limit
'There is no Plan B': Republicans make a daring bet on the debt limit

NBC News

timean hour ago

  • NBC News

'There is no Plan B': Republicans make a daring bet on the debt limit

WASHINGTON — As Republicans barrel toward a critical deadline this summer to lift the debt ceiling, they say there's no 'Plan B' to avert an economically disastrous default if they fail to pass the massive bill for President Donald Trump's agenda in time. Congressional Republicans are eyeing increasing the debt limit by $4 trillion to $5 trillion so the government can keep borrowing to meet the country's obligations. It's part of their broader domestic policy package, which the Senate needs to pass before it can go back through the House and ultimately to Trump's desk for his signature. And the GOP only has three votes to spare in both chambers. 'There is no Plan B,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday when asked by NBC News if he has a backup plan for the debt limit. 'It's Plan A. We have to get it done. Failure is not an option.' It's a risky gamble by GOP leaders, who are putting all their chips on passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by the debt ceiling deadline. 'We're going to get reconciliation done,' Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said when asked what the party's fallback plan is on the debt ceiling. (Reconciliation refers to the budget process Republicans are using to pass their bill, which allows them to bypass the 60-vote threshold in the Senate and cut Democrats out of the process.) The Treasury Department has urged Congress to raise the debt ceiling "by mid-July" to safely avoid default. The Congressional Budget Office projected this week that the deadline may be later, 'between mid-August and the end of September,' although that won't be official unless the Treasury Department agrees. If Republicans fail to pass their sprawling bill in time, they would need to negotiate with Democrats to pass a standalone debt limit extension through the 60-vote process in the Se nate. But there have been no negotiations between party leaders on that front, according to Republican and Democratic aides with knowledge of the dynamics. One GOP aide said the party is 'full steam ahead on Plan A' and suggested there may still be time to consider a fallback if they absolutely need to. Some Republicans say it's a deliberate tactic to drive up the urgency of passing their filibuster-proof bill. 'We should be set an expectation that we're getting this done in July, and it includes the debt ceiling,' said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. 'I think the minute you start talking about a backup plan, you're going to have a backup plan.' If Republican leaders eventually decide they want to cut a bipartisan deal on the debt ceiling, it's unclear what — if anything — Democrats would demand. Some, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, and Rep. Brendan Boyle, of Pennsylvania., have insisted on abolishing the debt limit entirely in order to prevent the full faith and credit of the United States from being used as leverage in policy negotiations. That's an idea Trump recently endorsed. 'I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING,' Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. 'The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe.' But there's scant support within the GOP for it, as Republicans have found success using it to extract concessions from Democratic presidents in the past. There's no indication that Democrats would respond in kind this year if Republicans came to them and asked for their votes on the debt ceiling. 'I'm not debating hypotheticals,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said when asked what he'd want in exchange.

Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives
Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives

The Independent

timean hour ago

  • The Independent

Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to make light of the contributions made by America's NATO allies during the war in Afghanistan at a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth attempted to make a point that the White House and President Donald Trump himself have frequently made: that other NATO member-states should increase their defensive capabilities to match the benchmarks laid out in the defense pact's charter. Instead, the secretary harked back to a remark he told Sen. Chris Coons (D-Conn.) was commonly made by US service members on the ground in Afghanistan during his time in the service. Hegseth said his fellow Army National Guardsmen would often joke that the ISAF acronym on their shoulder patches — which stood for International Security Assistance Force — really stood for, 'I saw Americans fighting.' 'Ultimately it was a lotta flags. Lotta flags. [But it] was not a lot of on-the-ground capability,' Hegseth continued in disparaging the NATO troops. 'You're not a real coalition, you're not a real alliance, unless you have real defense capability, and real armies that can bring those to bear.' His remark drew immediate rebuke from Coons, who noted the military and human contributions that America's allies made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when NATO's Article 5 was invoked for the first time. The Democratic senator launched into an explanation about how Denmark, with a population of just six million, suffered some of the highest losses per capita of any coalition ally, only closely trailing the United States. 'Let's just make clear for the record that our military partners in Afghanistan included many who served and died,' said the senator. But Hegseth wasn't finished. 'Don't try and make it look like I don't care about the investments of our partners,' said the secretary. 'Of course I do. I recognize that there were lives lost from other countries. But the bulk of the effort was Americans.' Alongside the US, 31 other countries participated in the war in Afghanistan and saw soldiers killed in combat and due to other circumstances. The U.S. lost 2,461 troops over the course of the longest military engagement in U.S. history, followed by the UK, which lost 457 service members. The final deaths of the war occurred during a chaotic withdrawal from the country in 2021, following the fall of large tracts of territory to Taliban militants the U.S .and its allies failed to dislodge over the course of 20 years. A blast attributed to Islamic State militants killed more than a dozen US service members outside of Kabul's airport during the evacuation, while thousands of desperate Afghans crowded the facility and sought exit on American planes. America's participation in the war grew unpopular as it dragged on, and the withdrawal of forces was ordered by Donald Trump during his first presidency. Completed under Joe Biden, the chaotic nature of the pullout and the speed of the collapse of Afghanistan's democratic government were points of soreness and contention in Washington, with defense hawks fretting that the Taliban takeover amounted to the country turning into a breeding ground for al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other terror groups once again. Britain's House of Commons library reports that the total cost of UK contributions to the war topped 32.8 billion pounds, adjusted for 2024-25 price levels. Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees were also resettled by the UK and other US partners. In 2021 and the two years following, Afghan refugees were the most common nationality accepted by the Home Office, according to the government's figures. The Trump administration in January froze a program allowing Afghan citizens who helped the US during the war against the Taliban, Islamic State and Al Qaeda to resettle in America.

MP asks Government to deliver ban on low-level letterboxes in new Bill
MP asks Government to deliver ban on low-level letterboxes in new Bill

South Wales Guardian

time2 hours ago

  • South Wales Guardian

MP asks Government to deliver ban on low-level letterboxes in new Bill

Labour MP Anneliese Midgley said she had spoken to postal workers in her Knowsley constituency who had lost parts of fingers, and suffered back problems from stooping to post mail through foot-level flaps. She said the Government could halt the danger to postal workers by changing existing British Standards – required technical regulations on products and services in the UK – to ensure manufacturers and housebuilders install the features at least 70cm off the ground. Introducing a 10-minute rule Bill in the Commons, Ms Midgley told MPs: 'This Government says it wants to raise standards and focus on delivery. So I have got a perfect Bill for them. It's the Letterbox Positioning Bill. 'Last Christmas, I visited the Royal Mail delivery office in my constituency in Huyton. I watched our posties working flat out, and it really hit home how hard they work, whatever the weather, whatever the conditions, and I asked, what could I do to help? 'They said 'sort out those low-level letterboxes', because they're worried that one of these days, one of them could get a life-changing injury.' She said one postal worker in Lancaster lost the top of a finger when it was bitten off by a dog when he was posting a letter. Another in south London suffered damage to a finger when a dog 'locked on' to his hand, she added. 'Around 1,000 of our posties have had their fingers partly or fully bitten off through a letterbox in the past five years. It is clear to me that letterboxes have reached a new low, and it's time we in this House raise them,' she said. MPs also heard political party campaigners had suffered injuries while leafletting. Deputy Speaker Nusrat Ghani responded to the end of Ms Midgley's speech and said: 'As a frequent leafletter in Sussex Weald I am particularly invested in this piece of legislation.' In addition, the Commons heard that Royal Mail had recorded more than 18,000 back injuries in one year. Ms Midgley said Ireland, Portugal and Belgium had already adopted measures similar to those she proposed. 'Let's catch up with our neighbours on this,' she said. 'Let's raise the bar, or height, literally on letterboxes. It will save pain, prevent injury and cut costs. 'It's the right thing to do for the people who deliver our post, a part of our community who look after us day in, day out.' She added: 'So I ask this House to give this Bill the stamp of approval and get it signed, sealed and delivered.' Her Bill will be added to private members' Bills that could be debated on July 11.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store