Letter: No tax cuts for rich if education suffers

How can the Legislature threaten to cut our public education budget because of a lack of tax revenue, while House Speaker Scott Saiki and House Finance Committee Chair Kyle Yamashita just got their two bills passed through committee? House Bill 2652 and HB 2653 would give Hawaii’s wealthiest heirs huge tax cuts and additional loopholes to avoid estate taxes on inheritances above $5.5 million.

Committee members ignored opposing testimony revealing that most successful business owners invest in life insurance policies explicitly to cover the tax burden that attaches to their estates after their passing. This tax break would just equate to extra spending money for the super rich.

No one disputes the fact that Hawaii has a regressive tax system. Our lowest-income households pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than the wealthiest households — even with the current estate tax in place.

Kim Coco Iwamoto

Kakaako

Originally published in the Star Advertiser on March 2, 2024