Update on Proposed Timeshare Tax Increase in Maui April 21, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a commentDemocracy is a wonderful thing. Especially when it works in favor of ordinary people.
Earlier in the week, I blogged about a proposed property tax increase being discussed by the Maui County Council which would have raised property taxes for Hawaii timeshare owners on the island by 40%. Well, it seems that the Council, specifically Mayor Alan Arakawa, had second thoughts about such a hike.
Not that my blog had anything to do with it, although I’m beginning to wonder since the last time I blogged about a controversial piece of legislation in Florida, it was changed soon after.
Coincidence? You bet it was.
According to a report in the Maui News, Mayor Alan Arakawa is now calling for a smaller property tax increase for timeshare owners than he originally proposed after being deluged by complaints from owners and timeshare property managers on the island.
“Their intent is to say we’re trying to jack their prices up,” he said. “Our entire purpose is to keep it revenue neutral, the same as last year.”
He’s been pushing that line from the beginning, but the original numbers painted a much different picture.
Under the revised plan, Maui timeshare properties would pay $15.45 per $1,000 of assessed value under Arakawa’s new proposal. That’s still an increase over the $14 that timeshare owners pay now but far less than the $19.60 he originally proposed in his draft budget.
This time around, he finally has the reasonable numbers to support his argument.
Based on the certified property values for 2012, the county would collect $24.83 million from timeshares under the proposed rate. That’s about 0.2 percent less than the $24.87 million the county expects to collect in 2011. Basically revenue neutral.
My beef with the Mayor is that he rolled out the same “revenue neutral” line when he originally proposed the $19.60 amount, which is clearly not the case according to the figures mentioned above in the Maui News article. Under that original $19.60 tax rate, the county would have generated an extra $10 million in revenue for the Council, far above any “revenue neutral” scenario.
Look, I’m glad that he listened to timeshare owners and business leaders who pointed out the folly in his argument. But is he really that slow not to have seen this coming? Or, perhaps he is clever enough to have proposed the higher rate and take the heat knowing it would be easier to sell the smaller increase as a counter proposal. Isn’t that usually the way tax increases are sold to the public?
So good news for Maui timeshare owners, which is also good news for people looking to buy timeshare in Maui as well. There are several great deals on Maui timeshare for sale on the BuyaTimeshare.com website at resorts such as Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas and Marriott Maui Ocean Club. You can find those deals by clicking here.