If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me tweet a couple of days ago about the mayor proposing changes on property tax rates. If you have been listening to Maui county elected officials, this is not a big surprise. The county depends on property tax revenue for a significant portion of its budget. When the real estate market was booming, the county adjusted rates downward in a number of property classifications. This helped partially offset big increases in assessed values. Now that the market has turned, assessed values have been shrinking rapidly leading to dwindling revenues. In turn, rates are being slated to increase to help offset the lower assessments. The Maui News had an article on Tuesday outlining the mayor’s proposed changes in property tax rates and other county fees to help raise revenues. Here is an excerpt showing the mayor’s new tax rates.
The amounts are per $1,000 of net taxable assessed valuation:
* Time share: $14; no change.
* Improved residential: $5.80; plus 95 cents.
* Apartment: $5; plus 45 cents.
* Commercial: $6; plus 25 cents.
* Industrial: $6.50; no change.
* Agricultural: $5; plus 50 cents.
* Conservation: $5; plus 25 cents.
* Hotel & Resort: $8.75; plus 55 cents.
* Unimproved residential: $7.25; plus $1.90.
* Homeowner: $2.50; plus 50 cents.
* Commercial Residential: $6.25; new tax category.
These rates will be subject to deliberation by the county council over the next couple of months. We may see some changes before they are finalized in early May. The new rates will go into effect at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. We will post the official rates when they have been approved by county council and the mayor.