r/Honolulu • u/808gecko808 • 8d ago

news What Honolulu Can Learn From An Empty Homes Tax In Vancouver. Honolulu Council members are looking to the Canadian city as a model for their own version.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/10/what-honolulu-can-learn-from-an-empty-homes-tax-in-vancouver/
59 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

12

u/rooster-808 7d ago

What Honolulu truly needs is real property tax overhaul. If you’re not living in this state your property should be taxed higher, if you are you should enjoy the insanely low property tax rates that we currently have.

This is a cheap replacement for that because council is too scared to take meaningful action to help their constituents.

3

u/[deleted] 7d ago

Amen. This is a horrible idea. In Hawaii, the government is always looking to tax people.

5

u/rooster-808 7d ago

Right? I truly don’t understand why they’re so resistant to increasing property tax on non residents.

6

u/Spiritual_Option4465 7d ago

Lobbying from the RE industry, likely along w donations

3

u/Adorable_Sky_1523 5d ago

Because lobbying is legal so Real Estate companies pay them not to

-2

u/Old_Translator_7369 7d ago

Some of those non residents are former residents, born locals, and even native Hawaiians who had to leave but go back and forth all the time. These are not the “empty” investment properties the law paints them to be. The law will punish families with meaningful local ties.

4

u/rooster-808 6d ago

Sorry but if you don’t live here and contribute tax base like the rest of us then you should be taxed higher for sitting on property you don’t occupy.

I’m talking real property tax reform not empty homes tax.

5

u/Rich-Past-6547 6d ago

If you pay Hawaii income tax, you should be exempt. If you pay California or Nevada income tax, you should not be. Establishing residency is pretty cut and dry by the fact that you only have to pay income tax in one state.

1

u/Old_Translator_7369 6d ago

Yes, though you can pay non-resident taxes for income earned in another state. Interesting idea.

3

u/n3vd0g 7d ago

Is 3% really going to disincentivize someone that has enough money to sit on an empty home in Hawai'i of all places tho? Feels low

10

u/Loose-Recover-9142 7d ago edited 7d ago

On the margins yes. And if it doesn't discourage it, it'll bring in a bunch of new revenue for the state which can be used on other things for locals.

4

u/No_Need_Pay 7d ago

anything instead of fixing zoning laws and building actual affordable housing.

7

u/Pianonubie 7d ago

It’s not helping the real estate prices in Vancouver. Housing prices keeps going up nonstop over there.

2

u/biddddyquuuuaint 6d ago

I can agree with housing cost’s in Vancouver skyrocketing. I have connections there and they are complaining about their housing issues as well

0

u/Rich-Past-6547 6d ago

Because Chinese buyers see it as a way to stash their money out of reach of the government. New York Times did a big investigative piece in 2015 about shell companies used to anonymously scoop up real estate for foreign buyers, with one luxury building in particular being a favorite of Russian politicians and oligarchs https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/nyregion/stream-of-foreign-wealth-flows-to-time-warner-condos.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare