Legislature fails to help
Hawaii’s craft distillers
The Hawaii Legislature made a huge mistake by not passing a bill that would have lowered the tax on low-alcohol spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
This misguided action harms local distilleries including ours, which produces a popular low-ABV (4.5%) canned cocktail made with our Hawaiian rum.
It’s inexplicable why beer and wine products with the same alcohol content as our canned cocktails get a far lower tax rate, putting Hawaii distillers at a disadvantage in the marketplace.
Our ready-to-drink Hawaiian rum cocktails are currently taxed 6.5 times higher in Hawaii. This state-level tax disparity is on top of a federal-level tax disparity, where ready-to-drink spirits are taxed at more than twice the rate of beer- and wine-based RTDs. This is unfair and unjustified.
House Bill 939 would have helped level the playing field by lowering the tax rate for spirits-based products with no more than 5% ABV. Our Legislature let the bill die in conference committee even though it had overwhelming support and passed both chambers on the floor.
Another bill, HB 108, also stalled in the Legislature and would have given spirits producers the ability to ship their products directly to consumers — something wine producers already enjoy in the state.
The spirits industry supports nearly 6,000 jobs in Hawaii and more than $730 million in economic output. It’s time for our legislators to help support craft distillers in our state so that we can continue to give back to our communities and local economies.
Bob Gunter
President and CEO of Koloa Rum Company
Lihue, Kauai
Trump’s cutbacks hurt
those already struggling
We are facing critical changes in the world today. Politics are at the forefront of these up-and-coming changes within our society.
The president of the United States of America is trying to dismantle the Department of Education. He has also threatened social services, federal funding for student aid, and has put fear into our society. People are scared and unsure of what the future may hold.
How are these changes going to affect our way of life here in Hawaii? There is no reasoning for ignoring the alarming growth in the number of productive workers who are imperiled as wages fail to keep up with the escalating cost of living. There is no way around these issues; they must be addressed. The government is withdrawing its historical commitment to provide an adequate safety net of health and social services.
I am a student at University of Hawaii Maui College. Prior to returning to school, my life was considerably different. I was in the prison system due to drug addiction, I felt that I had failed myself, my community and my family.
I observed a common theme while incarcerated amongst the women within the system. Poverty, addiction, domestic violence and limited implementation of progressive education methods have detrimentally affected many families. I used this experience as a stepping stone to turn my life around.
I feel Donald Trump is using his anti-immigration agenda as a smoke screen to provide tax cuts to the wealthy and dismantle democracy. His federal budget cuts aimed to impact immigrants are impacting poor and elderly, children and low-income families — Americans who already struggle with meeting the basic needs.
Democracy seems to be slipping away as Trump’s claim to make America great is only intended for those already thriving.
Christina Blair
Hilo
