mtanji@mauinews.com
Visitor accommodations could see an increase in taxes under a Maui County Council committeeâs current budget proposal. Committee members are raising taxes in hopes of generating more money for affordable housing.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
High-priced homes and visitor accommodations could see property tax hikes, while owners of more affordable homes could experience some relief under a proposal by the Maui County Council’s budget committee.
An increase in taxes for hotels and resorts, short-term rentals and timeshares, as well as for properties worth more than $1.5 million could provide more funding for affordable housing, said committee members, who are hammering out tax rates as they near the end of their review of Mayor Michael Victorino’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget. The highest-tier categories also have the means to pay more, they added.
mtanji@mauinews.com
With officials often emphasizing âquality over quantityâ when it come to tourism, a sign questions âWhereâs the quality?â during a âTake Back the Beachâ rally at Wailea Beach on April 11. In response to long-brewing concerns about overtourism, the Maui County Councilâs budget committee is proposing to reduce funding to the Maui Visitors Bureau. â The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Saying they want to see more tourism management and “not more promotion” of the island, Maui County Council members are transferring county funding from the Maui Visitors Bureau and putting some of the money toward tourism management grants.
kcerizo@mauinews.com
Maui County is mulling the purchase of a 6.3-acre, $9.8 million parcel in Wailuku that includes The Maui News buildings. Some testifiers and county officials say it would save the county money on rent, though others are concerned about making the purchase during the pandemic.
The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo
Testifiers and financial advisers used the county’s decision not to purchase One Main Plaza in arguing Wednesday that Maui County could save rent money by acquiring a 6.3-acre, $9.8 million parcel in Wailuku that includes The Maui News offices.
One Main Plaza, a six-story professional building housing several county agencies, has cost the county more than $21 million in rent and common area maintenance since 2006, county Finance Director Scott Teruya said during the Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee meeting Wednesday night.