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Here’s how much
gas tax you’re paying

Question: Believe it or not, I'm having a very difficult time getting a breakdown on state and federal taxes included in a gallon of gasoline here in Hawaii. No one seems to know the answer. The state personnel at the Department of Agriculture's Measures and Weights Division and at the Department of Taxation didn't know. I called a federal office and they didn't know either. How much is the state, county and federal taxes in a gallon of gasoline? My spouse told me to ask "Kokua Line."

Answer: We had a similar question a couple of years ago and the only change from then is that Maui County's fuel tax went up 5 cents per gallon.

Here's the breakdown, courtesy of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism:

Per gallon of gas at the retail pump, the federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon; state excise tax, 16 cents; county taxes -- Oahu, 16.5 cents; Maui, 18 cents; Kauai, 13 cents; Hawaii, 8.8 cents.

There is also an Environmental Response Tax, which is 5 cents per barrel (a barrel equals 42 U.S. gallons).

Q: In the Waipio Gentry area, on Ka Uka Boulevard, as you exit the H-2 freeway, many cars (often 20 or more) are waiting patiently to make the left turn onto Moaniani Street to go to Costco, Kaiser or Tony Autoplex. But there are always two or three drivers who cannot wait their turn and continue down Ka Uka Boulevard to make an illegal left turn into Costco near the Seattle's Best Coffee shop (where there is a clearly marked "no left turn" sign). Cars are not expecting anyone to make this illegal left turn and are forced to slam on their brakes to avoid rear-ending these impatient drivers. I have seen many near collisions and it's only a matter of time before I see an accident. Traffic will only get worse when another strip mall opens. The speed limit on Ka Uka is 25 mph, but it's not uncommon to see nine of 10 cars zoom past as I drive 25-30 mph! Police used to "radar" this section of Ka Uka. How can we request police to check this out?

A: Honolulu police Capt. Ron Bode, of the Pearl City Station, said he will have officers monitor the area for both of the alleged violations you described to "see how bad the problem is and take it from there."

If it's as bad as you say, he indicated officers will regularly patrol the area, or "just do maintenance on it if we find it that it's not as bad as it sounds."

Q: There are "no parking" signs posted all along the Waipio Soccer Complex, but during peak hours in the afternoons, people park all along the sides and in front the exit. Can anything be done to enforce the "no parking" in those areas? It's becoming more and more hazardous.

A: As in the Ka Uka Boulevard complaint, Capt. Bode said he also will have officers monitor the soccer complex for parking violations.

Once park users realize police are enforcing the parking restrictions, he said, "hopefully, we can just do maintenance on it thereafter."

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