[ OUR OPINION ]
Increasing taxes
is a sticky ventureTHAT a war will damage Hawaii's tourism-based economy is one of the few certainties as President Bush moves the nation toward a confrontation with Iraq. The state Senate, anticipating a drop in revenues, has positioned a bill to raise the excise tax, ostensibly to fund public education. Because the measure may become a framework for other increases and because it is not linked to specific programs that will improve education services, taxpayers should remain alert to the bill's progress.
THE ISSUE A Senate panel approves an increase in the state excise tax.
The measure will not likely gain the approval of Governor Lingle, who has said repeatedly that she will not increase taxes. However, if a war cuts heavily into tourism numbers and revenues tumble, state leaders in a budget bind may find themselves doing so.
The bill, cleared by the Senate's money committee, would raise the state's excise tax to 4.5 percent from 4 percent. To lessen the pain on residents, it includes a $100-per-person tax credit. The increase is expected to clear $80 million, which will be placed in a special fund for public education and the University of Hawaii.
Since the 4 percent excise tax is applied to gross income and receipts of all commercial activity, business groups are opposed to the bill. The tax is applied through all levels of delivering goods from wholesale to retail, and increases typically are passed on to consumers. This will boost the cost of basic needs such as food, medicine, health care and clothing, as well as for discretionary items like new cars and entertainment.
Excise tax increases are particularly burdensome for those at lower income levels, who will pay a higher percentage of their earnings. Lowell Kalapa, head of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, suggested that an income tax increase may be a more equitable way to raise revenues. The excise tax increase, which lawmakers say is aimed at tourists, may be of questionable value because the number of visitors likely will decrease during a war. Consumer spending also will drop, sending larger ripples through the local economy.
Education officials and social service groups contend that they have cut their budgets as much as possible and that tax increases, with revenue earmarked for their use, are necessary to maintain services. However, they should be reminded that special-purpose funds do not always stay with the programs for which they are originally pegged.
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Hand-held phone ban
is a good startDRIVER distractions are believed to account for up to 30 percent of all motor vehicle accidents, and a relatively new and growing distraction is the use of cellular telephones. The state Legislature is considering a bill that would follow New York's lead in prohibiting drivers from using hand-held phones while driving. The legislation would be a good start in dealing with the problem while further studies are conducted about its nature and seriousness.
THE ISSUE A state House committee has approved a proposed ban on the use of hand-held cellular telephones while driving.
The cell-phone distraction already has had financial repercussions for Hawaii taxpayers. The state was held 20 percent liable and was required to pay $1.5 million last year to the family of a New Jersey tourist who suffered brain damage when struck by a car driven by a public school teacher who had been talking on a cell phone.
Some legislators understandably are reluctant to annoy cellular telephone users, who also are voters. The number of Americans subscribing to wireless services has grown from 60 million in 1998 to more than 137 million, and nearly three-fourths of the subscribers use their phones while driving, according to industry estimates. More than half of mobile phone use probably occurs behind the wheel.
Several states have restrictions, such as forbidding school bus drivers from using cell phones while driving or banning their use by drivers younger than 21 years old. New York's ban on the use of hand-held phones while driving, which went into effect four months ago, is the most restrictive. About 20 local jurisdictions have banned drivers from using hand-held phones; the Honolulu City Council rejected such a proposal last year.
The Hawaii bill, which was endorsed by the House Transportation Committee, would allow fines of up to $100 for driving while using a hand-held cell phone. It includes exemptions for placing emergency phone calls and for police and firefighters making calls as part of their duties.
Rep. Joe Souki, the committee's chairman, concludes that the ban on hand-held phones could prevent traffic accidents, but adds that "studies are currently in progress" to determine whether the use of all cell phones is distracting. Actually, a recent study by University of Utah scientists concluded that the distraction caused by cell phone use is caused not by the dialing or handling of the phone, but by the phone conversation, which removes the driver's mind from the road. That is why drivers talking on the phone seem to other motorists to be inattentive to their surroundings.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
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