Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kokua Line
Question: Regarding the new state depyramiding tax law of 3.5 percent: What can I charge the customer? I called the tax office, but they don't know. We have to figure the GET for January and February and need help. Products to be
resold get tax reliefAnswer: The state Taxation Department has issued an advisory on Act 71, which provides "general excise tax pyramiding relief for wholesale sales of goods and services."
Call 587-4242, weekdays, to get information and copies of new forms that you might need.
In a nutshell, Act 71 allows the resale of goods and services to be taxed at the wholesale rate on the sale of goods. The lower rate will be phased in over seven years, so that the 4 percent general excise tax rate will decrease by a 0.5 percent each year, until the 0.5 percent rate is reached in 2006.
For this calendar year, transactions that qualify for the lower tax rate will be taxed at 3.5 percent.
Some examples of goods-to-services transactions that might qualify for the lower rate: selling paper to a copy center for use in making copies for a customer, or the sale of toiletries to a hotel for in-room guest use.
But selling paper to a lawyer's office does not qualify, since the cost of the paper is part of overhead costs -- there is no resale of the paper.
Examples of mixed services transactions that might qualify: An accountant prepares an audit report used by an attorney to render a legal opinion for a client; a graphic artist designs the cover of a CD-ROM jewel case; an independent drawing service draws blueprints for a contractor.
Q: At Likini and Ala Ilima streets, they are building an island to slow traffic, which is great. But they should post "no parking" signs at least 100 to 200 feet around that intersection, because the lanes narrow quite a bit, making it difficult for trucks and buses to get around. (Two calls combined.)
A: "No Parking" signs already have been installed on all sides of the Keeaumoku/Heulu "roundabout" in Makiki. Similar restrictions will be in effect around future traffic circles, said city Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon.
Because of the scarcity of on-street parking, the aim was to remove the least number of parking spaces while maintaining an acceptable level of safety.
She pointed out that "the presence of parked cars on a street generally helps reduce the speed of vehicles, which results in a "calming' effect."
Auwe
Recently, on my way to work at 7:45 a.m., Waianae-bound, I saw a large Dodge truck hit a dog before Honokai Hale. The driver continued speeding down the highway. He had time to slow down as I did when I saw the dog coming onto the street, but he did not. He continued speeding and took the cutoff to Ko Olina. You know who you are. It may not have been a human life that you took, but a life it was. There should be law against hit-and-run drivers for animals. A message to this driver: Slow down before you take a human life. -- Concerned driver(There is no law regarding failure to render aid to an animal as there is for a human, said Eve Holt, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Humane Society. "However, we encourage people to report something like that, particularly if they have the license plate number," she said. Call the HHS at 946-2187.
(Holt said the "cruelty to animals" law comes into play only if it can be proven that hitting the animal was deliberate. We gave her the license number you provided.)
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com