Progressive Revenue Options to Protect and Invest in Our Future.

This budget primer is intended to help readers understand how our state budget works and to encourage budget and policy decisions that improve the lives of Hawaiʻi’s people.

How tax credits can reduce poverty, stimulate the economy and keep local residents thriving in Hawaiʻi.

The state budget is a plan for spending based on available resources. It's also a statement of our values. It’s where we invest in programs that increase fairness, opportunity and wellbeing for all.

The impacts of House Bill 2653 on inequality and economic security in Hawaiʻi.

How the State Conveyance Tax Can Re-Invest Nonresident Wealth Into Our Island Communities.

Options for raising taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, so that they contribute their fair share towards the public good.

The budget is the blueprint that describes how public funds are to be allocated, and it is a concrete demonstration of what we, as a society, value—and by how much.

A refundable state child tax credit would help Hawaiʻi’s families meet the unique challenges associated with raising a family in Hawaiʻi.

By taxing capital gains at the same rate as regular income, Hawaiʻi can make its tax code more fair while funding critical investments in education, housing, healthcare, and support for working families.

A two-page flyer to quickly explain the EITC and help community members take action in support quickly and with ease.

Analysis of the economic and social impacts of expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it permanent and refundable.

How expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it refundable can boost the economy and provide opportunity to Hawaiʻi’s working families.

Tax credits can fine-tune the tax system to promote social welfare and encourage economic activity by delivering targeted tax relief.

The tax fairness proposals the Hawaiʻi Tax Fairness Coalition is supporting during the 2021 session.

A quick breakdown of the proposed package of progressive revenue raisers to help shore up Hawaiʻi’s budget, stimulate the economy and prevent harmful cuts to services and programs.

Past recessions have shown us that state spending cuts just exacerbate the economic damage. Instead, we should look for every opportunity to raise revenue. Lawmakers should, utilize a range of progressive tax options to close the deficit without slashing critical government spending.

A quick breakdown of the five key lessons outlined in Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center’s brief by the same with revenue proposals to help lift our economy out of recession.

To end the pandemic recession as quickly as possible, the government must increase its spending, not cut back. To do this, our state must raise revenue, and tax fairness measures should be at the top of the list.

Refundability makes the Earned Income Tax Credit more effective, especially for families with the lowest incomes. These families are likely to qualify for tax credits that amount to more than their income tax liability.

Analysis of the economic and social impacts of expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to make it permanent and refundable.

The main driver of our growing high cost of living is our highest-in-the-nation housing costs. The Low-Income Household Renters’ Credit has not been updated in nearly three decades.

Findings from Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s QMark Research poll conducted in 2016 that looked at the financial situation of our state’s residents and their opinion of tax credits for working-class families, especially the EITC.

Lower income families lose some of the value of their tax credit when the credit size is larger than their tax liability. Making those credits refundable gives our lowest-income families the full credit they deserve.

The Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit is designed to help offset the financial burden the GET places on people who are working hard to make ends meet. It hasn’t been updated since 2007.

Hawaiʻi’s highest-in-the-nation cost of living is driving local working families into poverty, homelessness or migration to cheaper states. A Hawaiʻi Working Family Credit would help them make it here in the islands.

Instead of pushing low-income households deeper into poverty, Hawaiʻi’s tax system should provide opportunity through targeted tax relief for working families using a variety of credits.

As Hawaiʻi prepares to consider establishing this working family tax credit at the state level, here are some recent data on the characteristics of the state’s EITC-eligible units.

The inability of Hawaiʻi’s families to make ends meet impacts their well-being. This report underscores the seriousness of poverty in our state and the need to make policies which increase opportunity for all.

Now is the time for Hawaiʻi to invest in its residents and businesses by creating a state refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.

Supporting our low- and moderate-income families through a progressive tax system is critical to the wellbeing of our people and to the strength of our economy.