LIHUE, Kauai — Hotels, resorts and some homeowners in Kauai will pay more in taxes next year under increases passed by the island’s County Council.
LIHUE, Kauai — Hotels, resorts and some homeowners in Kauai will pay more in taxes next year under increases passed by the island’s County Council.
The county had faced a $6 million shortfall in its $182.3 million budget. By a 5-1 vote, councilors on Tuesday approved a 30 cent increase per $1,000 in value for residential-class homes. They also voted to raise the tax on hotels and resorts by $1.85 per $1,000 in value. The measures are expected to generate almost $8 million for the county.
The Garden Island newspaper reports that homeowners in the agricultural, homestead and conservation classes won’t see increases. Residential-class homes are those occupied by someone other than the owner, such as renters.
The budget will be officially balanced once the council meets Wednesday to approve other tax and fee increases.
Councilman Mel Rapozo cast the lone dissenting vote on the property tax increases.
“I don’t think we should go beyond what we need to do when it comes down to taxes,” he said before voting. “I think we should tax where we need to tax our citizens so we can get a balanced budget, move forward and work internally with departments to become more efficient so we can save that money next year down the road.”
The council rejected three other proposed tax measures. Rapozo had proposed raising taxes on vacation rentals and hotels and resorts. A proposal by Councilman Tim Bynum would have lowered rates on homestead-class residences — homes where homeowners live — while raising taxes on all other classes of property. Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. had proposed raising taxes on hotels and resorts by $2 per $1,000 in value.