STAND. COM. REP. NO. 646

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1212

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1212 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AMENDING OR REPEALING VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF HAWAII TAX LAWS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DELETING OBSOLETE OR UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal obsolete provisions in the general excise tax and public service company tax laws.

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

     Your Committee finds that sections of the general excise tax and public service company tax laws contain provisions that were to phase-in the effect of certain amendments over several years.  Your Committee further finds that the phase-in periods for those provisions have long since ended, making those provisions obsolete.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending section 238-2.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to delete a reference to section 237-13.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which is repealed by this measure;

     (2)  Deleting the section of the measure that would have repealed section 239-6(e), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which exempts certain transportation service providers from the public service company tax, provided that they are subject to the general excise tax; and

     (3)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of consistency and clarity.

     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. 1212, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1212, 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,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair