Having been a frequent visitor to Kauai since 2011 and now a permanent resident, I have followed closely the debate on raising the General Excise Tax by a half percent to fund improvements to the bus system and road improvements.
Having been a frequent visitor to Kauai since 2011 and now a permanent resident, I have followed closely the debate on raising the General Excise Tax by a half percent to fund improvements to the bus system and road improvements.
As an observer and frequent car renter when vacationing here, I pose the following thoughts and questions:
It is unlikely that tourists will abandon the convenience of rental cars to wait for scheduled bus service with the probability of transfers, to take them with heavy and bulky luggage to their accommodations, to shop for groceries, or to visit the many places (some remote) of beauty which draw them here. No public transportation system has ever offered door-to-door service. These people have limited vacation time which they will not want to forfeit for the inconvenience of public transportation. Nor will they want to haul luggage or groceries from bus stops to their accommodations.
By casual observation, the ridership on current routes is minimal, so even the locals who have the ability to effectively use the service are not willing to buy into the inconvenience.
I, for one, would appreciate an audit of those monies which are diverted from the road improvement budget so see if those amounts would fund necessary road improvements before considering a tax increase.
When tax increases are considered for a specific and limited purpose, common sense would dictate the new tax would “sunset” on a date certain when the desired funding goal is achieved. I see no discussion of this which logically leads me to believe that our leaders intend this to be a tax in perpetuity.
Having a tax expire also then requires public officials to have specific plan to address the problem and identify the funds needed to achieve it.
Lastly, the increases in real property taxes over the years combined with the anticipated GET increase for roads may not have an impact on the willingness of people to invest in resort properties now or even deter tourists in the short term, but continual tax increases in whatever form may kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
The combination of multiple tax increases and bad management of public funds has often led to voter initiatives to limit the revenues of offending governmental entities without seeking the approval of the voters for any increase in funds generated beyond a minimal percentage for cost of living.
Is that where we are headed?
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Wyatt Angelo is a resident of Kalaheo.
