Kauai errs on
vehicle weight tax

By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

LIHUE -- Kauai County officials would like to say it happened because they have so little experience in raising taxes. But when you get right down to it, they admit they screwed up.

"Basically, nobody caught it," said Finance Director Wally Rezentes Jr. "In fact, it was an official at City and County (of Honolulu) who questioned it last week."

Back in June, Kauai County mailed 3,700 vehicle registration renewal forms showing the wrong figure for the vehicle weight tax.

The forms sent out for August renewals reflect a half-cent per pound increase on the vehicle weight tax -- a 60 percent increase for privately owned vehicles -- approved by the County Council in May.

Too late for the mailing, the county discovered that under state law it can't start collecting the higher taxes until Jan. 1.

The mistake puts a $300,000 dent in the county's highway budget, money they thought they could collect and spend from August through December. That means about a 4 percent reduction in planned pothole repairs through the fiscal year ending next June 30.

Kauai County raised both the vehicle weight tax and the fuel tax this year in an attempt to bring street repairs up to date. For the past several years the County Council has raided the highway fund to pay for operating expenses.

County residents that have been receiving the forms have been asked to call the County Treasury Division at 241-6577 to find out the correct amount they owe. If they pay too much they'll automatically receive a refund, Rezentes said.