Whipsawed by New Fees and Charges: Taxpayers Beware

One would think that in an election year lawmakers would shy away from raising taxes and imposing new fees, but that is just not the case down at the state capitol building in Honolulu.

Perhaps lawmakers hope no one will notice or that the intent of the new fee or charge will sway taxpayers to “buy-in” to the proposal. However, the real bottom line is that these proposals are nothing more than another grab for money that legislators like to spend.

Take for example a spate of measures that would charge consumers as much as twenty-five cents per bag at the checkout counter of a retailer. No doubt the emotional appeal is that the fee will discourage customers from having their purchases bagged in single-use plastic or paper bags which the proponents believe will be tossed willy-nilly in the trash or allowed to pollute the environment with visions of bags blowing down the street or across the Islands’ pristine beaches.

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