STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2663

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2921

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2921 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONFORMITY TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to conform Hawaii's income and estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes to the Internal Revenue Code as of December 31, 2015.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Taxation.

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that this annual conformity measure is submitted by the Department of Taxation in compliance with section 235-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which requires the department to annually submit a measure to maintain state income tax conformity with the federal Internal Revenue Code.  This measure is also intended to comply with section 236E-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which requires the department to annually submit a measure to maintain state estate and generation-skipping tax conformity with the federal Internal Revenue Code.  The purpose of conformity is to update the state tax laws with those changes made to the federal Internal Revenue Code during the past year and to adopt those changes that are appropriate for Hawaii law.

     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. 2921 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair