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To view the archives of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii's commentary click here. Weekly Commentary For the Week of November 19, 2017 No End to Litigation, Part 2 By Tom Yamachika, President Two weeks ago, we wrote about a case now before the Hawaii Supreme Court in which the State audited and assessed the taxpayers, causing the taxpayers to spend millions of dollars on litigation that resulted in a court judgment. The State then audited and assessed more of the same taxes (General Excise taxes) for the same years, forcing both the taxpayers and the court system through the wringer again without any apparent limit. The Foundation asked the Hawaii Supreme Court to participate in the litigation as an “amicus,” or “friend of the court,” in order to present a perspective from its role as a watchdog for taxpayers generally. On Halloween, the State filed a response opposing the Foundation’s request, saying that our brief “cannot aid the Court in the disposition of this dispute.” The State argued: TFH’s proposed brief fails to take into account that the [taxpayers] did not file tax returns, including “annual reconciliation returns,” for the periods to which any res judicata argument might apply. The broad principles of res judicata that TFH urges the Court to adopt are not properly asserted when the taxpayers utterly fail to meet their filing obligations. Rather, principles of res judicata should have no application to taxpayers that flaunt their reporting obligations, like the OTCs here. For this reason TFH’s motion should be denied because it fails to aid the Court in any way. Although the Foundation wanted to file a response to the State’s opposition memo, the appellate court rules didn’t allow us to. So, we are using this space to tell you, the court of public opinion, what we would have filed on Halloween. We wanted to say: The State opposes the Foundation’s motion because it says the ideas expressed in its proposed brief will not help this Court. The State essentially argues that the rules of law and justice should be tossed out the window because the taxpayers before the Court failed to file returns. The Department fundamentally misconceives what this issue is about. The Department apparently regards the taxpayers here as lower life forms and wants to give them no respect. This case, however, is not about respect for the taxpayers. It is about respect for this Court and the Hawaii Judiciary. The Legislature provided that the Executive Branch could assess taxes when the taxpayer fails to self-assess. It also provided that the Judiciary could review those assessments. Thus, the taxpayers and the Department litigated the assessments, and the courts have rendered judgment. Even if the taxpayers were demons, ghouls, or devils incarnate, they have a judgment. The issue is the respect to be accorded that judgment. If the Department can pursue repeated litigation without mercy and without end, woe be to the rest of us, for we do not know who the Department will demonize tomorrow. UPDATE: On November 7, the Court allowed the Foundation to file its brief. So there! Oral argument and a decision of the Court won’t be expected until weeks or months later. We like to think that our viewpoint will someday help taxpayers in our state, so we will be anxiously awaiting the next chapter in this story. Mahalo, to The Maui News for the great coverage on the West Maui Taxpayers Association 3rd Annual Hot Topic's meeting. WMTA initiated and sponsors, and organizes this Hot Topic meetings to heighten awareness and stimulate action remedies. Mahalo to all our panelists for your participation! LAHAINA — Before the State of Hawaii started pushing its Housing First program, the Family Life Center in Kahului just didn’t have the resources to find housing for the people who needed it most, Executive Director Maude Cumming said.
But now, agencies like the Family Life Center are getting the funding and assistance they need to quickly get housing for the chronically homeless, who make up about 10 to 20 percent of the homeless population but require the lion’s share of community resources, from police to hospitals to homeless agency services. “If we can get them housed and stabilized, that would free up the resources for the majority,” said David Nakama, Maui County Homeless Program coordinator. Nakama and Cumming were part of a seven-person panel that addressed homelessness, housing and development before an audience at the West Maui Senior Center on Tuesday. In many ways, the Housing First program is changing the way shelters aid the homeless on Maui. Housing First is in its third year on Oahu and expanded to the Neighbor Islands earlier this year. The concept focuses on getting people off the streets and into housing, and then supplying them with social and medical services. Officials working on the issue of homelessness reason that if people have the stability of housing, it’s easier for them to maintain other aspects of their lives, whether it’s keeping a job or staying off drugs and alcohol. Housing First has found early success, according to the University of Hawaii, which has been tracking families placed in permanent housing on Oahu since November 2014. In a study released over the summer, the UH College of Social Sciences found that 89 percent of clients remained in housing. Many said they decreased their use of drugs and alcohol — 80 percent reported never or rarely using alcohol after one year, and 92 percent reported never or rarely using drugs. Clients also reported a 64 percent decrease in visits to the emergency room, often a frequent stop for quick medical attention for those living on the streets. The number of arrests among clients decreased by 55 percent after one year in the program, and 61 percent after two years. Now, Maui County is focusing more on the chronically homeless. According to the federal government, a chronically homeless person has been unsheltered or on the streets for at least 12 months, has a disability or has been homeless four or more times in the last three years. To assign agencies clients to be housed, Maui County uses something called a coordinated entry system, which is the “operational arm of the Housing First approach,” Nakama said. It’s a computer database of known homeless individuals in Maui County. “The system prioritizes them by need,” Nakama said. “It’s a very objective system. It’s not subjective anymore where naturally you’re going to work with people who are easier to work with. That’s out the door. You’re getting the toughest ones now, and those tough ones are the ones using up most of the resources.” Recently, Family Life Center housed 11 chronically homeless individuals, including three families who had been homeless for 15 years and “had lost hope,” Cumming said. Sometimes people refuse help, but Cumming said that the center’s job is to “continue to make our presence known. “We continue to encourage them because we never know when personal circumstances will change their minds,” Cumming said. “If we have a constant presence, then they’ll know that we do want to assist and we are available. So we never want to close the door on someone.” Monique Yamashita, executive director of Ka Hale A Ke Ola, said that the organization “changed our model this year where everything is about housing.” The nonprofit now focuses on helping people increase their income and get their documents in order. It has housing navigators who meet with property managers and landlords, and housing retention specialists who help newly housed tenants follow the rules of their leases. “The amount of time that they stay at our shelter has significantly decreased,” Yamashita said. “Before we would have families that would stay up to two years in our transitional shelter. . . . We had families there for a long amount of time, and actually longer than they needed to be. It didn’t really help them as far as getting permanent housing.” But one of the biggest challenges is finding affordable housing or affordable rentals in the first place. If people can get into a rental, “they hopefully can save for the down payment, which is one of the biggest impediments and hurdles to being able to purchase a home,” said Buddy Almeida, county housing administrator. “We need more low-income rental projects being built just as much as we need affordable single-family homes.” But developers often see rental projects as “a money loser,” Almeida said. The county has tried to offer developers rental housing credits and other incentives. Kaloa Robinson, a project manager for Stanford Carr Development, said that having easier access to the state rental housing revolving fund — which the state recently removed the cap on — and easier access to low-income housing tax credits would also help. Now, developers can only apply for the tax credits once a year. Robinson said it makes more sense for them to apply whenever they have a project. State Rep. Angus McKelvey, whose district includes West Maui, Maalaea and north Kihei, and Maui County Council Member Elle Cochran of West Maui both advocated for affordable housing in perpetuity. McKelvey said that the state and county also need to look at “decoupling ourselves” from U.S. Housing and Urban Development funding. Federal funding requires the state and county to open housing projects to everyone instead of limiting them to Hawaii residents. “Housing First has been making a dent, but the underlying big crunch is the hidden homeless, the soon-to-poten-tially-be homeless,” McKelvey said. “If we can’t create pro-cesses for affordable housing in perpetuity, then I think . . . a lot of local people are going to find themselves in bad situations. (Housing First) helps, and we need it, but we need a whole bunch of other things.” * Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com. Maui News Link to Article: http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/11/housing-first-is-making-a-dent-in-homelessness/ November 6, 2017
Joseph Pluta, Vice President West Maui Taxpayers Association Phone: 808-661-7990 FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE-- HANA HOU! Hot Topics Discussed at the West Maui Community Meeting The West Maui Taxpayers Association (WMTA) invites you to Join us for a Hana Hau at the WMTA's West Maui Community Meeting to Discuss Housing Shortages for the unsheltered, houseless, or homeless. West Maui Senior Center 788 Pauoa St, Lahaina, HI 96761 Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Doors open at 4:30 PM – Food Service begins at 5:00 PM Panel/Program begins at 5:30 PM They will lead a moderated discussion with attendees intended to amplify action on one of the highest priorities of WMTA with respect to West Maui's diversified housing needs. See Akaku archives of previous meetings: 2016 Meeting: https://vimeo.com/1958999062015 Meeting: https://archive.org/details/WMTAHotTopicsHomelessness111615 Goal Create a dialog which accelerates, advances, furthers and positively affects the current condition of lack of accessible housing in West Maui. Deepen the understanding of the housing needs for West Maui and develop creative solutions. Position Statement The West Maui Taxpayers Association Inc., WMTA, is dedicated to bringing the West Maui Community together to deepen the understanding of the housing need complexities confronting our community at large today. We recognize the need to create a positive and respectful dialog which will address the current conditions here and the steps necessary to begin to arrive at a consensus on what resources can be made available to facilitate strategic action plans in the best interests of all concerned. Community leaders and stakeholders targeted to be selected by WMTA to serve on a panel to facilitate positive momentum on these issues are:
Compelling reasons for this forum are aimed at providing and maintaining a high quality of life for all residents which include dignity and respect. WMTA seeks to restore all levels through perusing safe/reasonable/affordable housing. We welcome a healthy discussion on these important issues which have been subject to misinterpretations from statements published by those who are not fully informed. In the absence of action WMTA is dedicated to lead the way and work with the community and organizations to educate, provide resources, serving fundamental purposes, inform, create local solutions aligned with local needs and core values. Call WMTA for any questions at 661-7990 or email wmta@maui.net. WMTA is a nonprofit 501 c 4. WMTA, as a dedicated Lobbyist organization, has a mission for our West Maui Community. The objectives of this Organization are to associate the interests, concerns, and efforts of residents and taxpayers of the West Maui area, and others interested in the orderly development and improvement of the area, in a cooperative effort. Whether provided by, or to be provided by, the State or County governments, or by others. # # # ATTACHMENT: EVENT FLIER |
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