Letter: Rental Car Firms Should Pay Tax that We All Pay | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Letter: Rental car firms should pay tax that we all pay | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

The next time you check your receipt for groceries, gas or a Spam musubi, look at the tax line. You pay roughly 4.712% on every transaction. It’s the cost of living in Hawaii. So why do big rental car companies get a pass?

New Hawaii rental car tax proposed

Hawaii lawmakers are eyeing the local rental car industry as a resource to rev up tax revenue amid state budget concerns. A variety of bills are being considered this year to generate around $90 million in new tax revenue annually from the industry for the state’s general fund, or for Hawaiian homestead development, or for retroactive hazard pay for public school teachers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proponents of the legislation, in…