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Kokua Line
Question: I recently received a bill for a magazine subscription and Hawaii sales tax was listed. This magazine is from the mainland, but I wasn't aware we were being charged a sales tax for subscriptions. Can they do that? Magazines can charge
tax on subscriptionsAnswer: The company apparently is licensed to do business in Hawaii.
Under current state tax laws, the 4.1666 percent general excise tax would be imposed on magazine subscriptions IF the magazine company is licensed to do business in Hawaii, according to state tax officials.
Sales of magazine subscriptions are not exempt from the tax under the general excise tax law. However, if the company is based out of state and has no business presence in Hawaii, and it sells magazine subscriptions directly to customers in Hawaii, the general excise tax is NOT imposed.
If you have more questions or want to find out if that magazine company is licensed to do business in Hawaii, call 587-4242 or log on to the state government's Web site, www.state.hi.us, and click on tax licenses.
Q: Last Christmas, we received a $35 gift certificate for dinner at a local restaurant. In June, I was reviewing all our gift certificates and was surprised to see the expiration date was March 30. I called the owner and asked for an extension. She answered that too much time had elapsed and no extension could be granted. I repeated this story to a friend who is an attorney and he said all gift certificates issued in the state of Hawaii should have a two-year period prior to expiration. With many practical shoppers going the gift certificate route for Christmas, could you please outline what the law is in our state concerning gift certificates?
A: First off, the owner of the restaurant could be fined from $500 to $10,000 for violating the state's law regarding gift certificates.
According to the law, all gift certificates must include an expiration date of at least one year from the date of issuance, plus a provision that extends the life of the certificate for one year if it's not redeemed within a year.
Five years ago, the state Office of Consumer Protection launched an educational campaign, saying many merchants were unaware of the law.
If, after you've pointed out the law to the restaurant owner she still balks at honoring the certificate, file a complaint with consumer protection. Call 587-3222.
Mahalo
Someone out there just made my holiday season a lot brighter. On Monday, Nov. 27, I lost my cellular phone somewhere between Honolulu Airport and Kahului Airport. I filed reports with the two airports, Aloha Airlines, Honolulu police and Nextel, my cellular company. Two days later, Nextel called to say someone had turned in my phone. My sincerest gratitude to that person. You didn't leave your name but you know who you are! -- Jan S.
Auwe
To the driver of the bus who ran a red light where Beretania meets Piikoi at 11:20 a.m. Nov. 22. That is an extremely busy intersection with an elementary school on the corner, yet you seemed more interested in catching up to the bus ahead of you. This was not a case of going through a yellow light. My car and several others were already stopped at the line when you went roaring past. It is a miracle that a major accident did not occur. -- No name(We gave your complaint and the specific bus number to Oahu Transit Services, which operates the city's bus system.)
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