In November, Hawai‘i will be voting on a proposed amendment to the constitution that will have far-reaching implications: 

“Shall the legislature be authorized to establish, as provided by law, a surcharge on investment real property to support public education?” 

West Hawaii Association of Realtors® (WHAR) supports public school education, and we have been working with area public schools to bring trades back into the curriculum.

 But, WHAR  strongly opposes this ballot measure for essentially new taxes because:

• Everyone’s cost of living will increase, including the cost of housing.
• There is no guarantee the money from this tax will reach classrooms and students.
• The counties’ constitutionally protected authority to tax real property will be jeopardized.
• The entire ballot question is extremely vague; the legislature will define the parameters of the tax.
• The tax is not limited to only $1 million or more residential investments by foreign investors, as proponents would have you believe.