Hawaii corporate
tax haul doubles

Hawaii's robust economy is evident in corporate income tax collections, which have nearly doubled in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared with the same time period in fiscal year 2004, state tax officials said yesterday.

The state collected $13.8 million in corporate income taxes in March, boosting the take for the first nine months of the fiscal year to $38.8 million, up 94.9 percent, the state Department of Taxation said.

The state's total tax take for March was $309.4 million, helping the total general fund deposits from July through March to grow by 15.5 percent to $2.8 billion, they said.

General excise and use tax collections, the single greatest category of collections, were up 11.6 percent to $1.5 billion for the fiscal year after $193.8 million was collected in March, the department said.

The state collected $66.7 million in individual income taxes last month as the fiscal year-to-date take rose 17.2 percent to $976.7 million, it said.

The department also reported collecting $18.7 million in transient accommodations taxes in March, boosting the take for the fiscal year to $147.4 million, an increase of 9.2 percent.

The state Council on Revenues last month revised its growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 10 percent, from 8.8 percent, estimating the state's general fund will take in an extra $36 million to $40 million.

The panel of economists sets the revenue forecast on which the governor and Legislature base the state budget and spending plan.