Property Tax Relief For Kauai Residents

Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 21, 2012) the Kauai County Council will again discuss Bill 2425, which proposes to increase the homeowner exemptions for Kauai residents. Kauai County Council Member Tim Bynum, who authored the Bill, states:

“Since the economy turned and home values started to fall property tax collections by the County have seen a disturbing trend.  In the last three years resident homeowners, as a class, have seen a more than 3 million dollar INCREASE in taxes while at the same time tax payers in tax classes other than residential homeowner have seen a 24 million dollar DECREASE. Shouldn’t local homeowners share in the tax savings everyone else are receiving?”

As the President of the Kauai Board of Realtors, a wide variety of political and economic issues that impact property owners come across my desk. Few are more cause for action than local issues, however, and especially property tax inequities. Of course, we follow national issues like Flood Insurance and Mortgage Interest Tax Deductions, and State issues like proposed G.E.T increases… but at the local level, we have only ourselves and our local community to rely on to voice our concerns about legislation and economic policies which impact us so severely.

Increasing the Homeowner’s Exemption would mean that local residents pay less property taxes, plain and simple. The exemption is deducted from the assessed value, thereby lowering the amount the resident would have to pay. Despite the talk about budgets and deficits, Council Member Bynum is quick to point out that the County of Kauai is sitting on a very large surplus of money, all from previously collected property taxes.

Send your testimony about Bill 2425 to counciltestimony@kauai.gov. A simple e-mail can go a long way. Give the Kauai Council Members your feedback. For more information about Bill 2425, Council Member Bynum can be reached at tbynum@kauai.gov.