Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2809, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish a qualified hotel project income tax credit in the amount of a percentage of qualified costs.

The Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Outrigger Hotels, Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association, Hawaii Reserves, Inc., Hawaii Chapter of the American Resort Development Association, and Cendant/Fairfield testified in support of this bill. The Hawaii Tourism Authority and Ko Olina Resort and Marina supported this bill with amendments. The Department of Taxation opposed this bill. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii and Waikiki Improvement Association provided comments.

Your Committee has chosen to blank out the percentages of the tax credits to take a cautious approach, especially in anticipation of the next estimates by the Council on Revenues.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2809, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2809, H.D. 2.