STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2436

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2946
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred
S.B. No. 2946 entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION APPEALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ease the financial burden on
a taxpayer who is appealing a tax assessment to a District Board
of Review.

     Specifically, the measure lifts the requirement that
taxpayers who are appealing a general excise, transient
accommodation, use, fuel, liquor, tobacco, conveyance, or rental
motor vehicle surcharge tax assessment, first pay the tax prior
to an appeal to the District Board of Review.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Department of Taxation.  The Tax Foundation submitted comments on
the measure.

     Your Committee finds that requiring a taxpayer to pay a tax
assessment as a condition precedent to appealing the assessment
to the District Board of Review may place an undue burden on
certain taxpayers.  Your Committee believes that the bill will
remove this financial burden without unduly impacting the State's
tax revenue balance.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2436
                                   Page 2


     Your Committee has amended the measure by making technical,
nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and to accurately reflect
existing statutory language.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of
S.B. No. 2946, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2946,
S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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