A preliminary consensus by the Maui county council indicates that there is a high likelihood that the homeowner’s tax exemption will be increased to $200,000. The homeowner’s exemption is available to people who use their home as their primary residence. This would be an increase over the current exemption of $110,000. The exemption would be in conjunction with a decrease in the tax rate on homeowners from $3.55 per $1000 of assessed value to a rate of $3.50 per assessed value. The proposed change is in response to strong increases in assessments that have resulted from rising home values over the last few years. To make up for lost tax revenue, there will be a new assessment on Time Shares. All other property taxes look like they will be unchanged. For additional information on the proposed changes, check out yesterday’s article in the Maui News.

Pete Jalbert