Abercrombie Wants to Double Vehicle Weight Tax
01/27/2011UPDATED 1/27/11 10:30 a.m
Hawaii drivers could see their annual vehicle registration bill jump1, thanks to a tax hike proposed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
As part of the governor's plan to help "meet the economic needs of the state" and pump extra cash into the state's highway fund, Hawaii car owners would be on the hook for increased taxes when registering a vehicle.
The tax is already regressive. An earlier Civil Beat story showed that it favors the rich. Abercrombie's proposed tax hike is yet another example of a policy decision that adversely affects the poor and elderly.
House Speaker Calvin Say introduced House Bill 1102 Wednesday as part of the governor's package of bills. It passed first reading this week and has been referred to the House Committees on Transportation and Finance.
The bill seeks to increase the vehicle weight tax, an annual tax that all Hawaii car owners pay, in some cases doubling the current rate.
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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that vehicle registration bills could double. The state's vehicle taxes and registration fees will double, but the counties' car taxes and fees will remain the same. ↩
