Affordable housing is a pressing concern for many residents in Hawaii. Hawaii’s Republican lawmakers are urging Congress to extend tax deductions to local homeowners similar to those available to large real estate corporations. They propose allowing homeowners to write off expenses like utilities and lawn care.
HONOLULU (Island News) — Making housing more affordable for renters and homebuyers is a top priority at this year’s legislature with some lawmakers calling for tax breaks for local people.
“Even if you had three jobs, you would still would not be able to afford a home in Hawaii,” said renter Merrill Kalopodes.
That’s why Hawaii’s Republican lawmakers are calling on Congress to give local homeowners the same tax deductions as large real estate corporations.
They want homeowners to be allowed to write off things like utilities and lawn care just like businesses do.
“For too many of our neighbors, the cost of living has become a barrier to building a life here in Hawaii,” said Rep. Diamond Garcia, who represents Ewa. “Families are priced out. We lose teachers, we lose first responders, we lose service workers, we lose entrepreneurs and cultural stewards who make Hawaii home.”
The group is also pushing a bill that would establish an affordable housing pool for local residents only with new properties subsidized by state tax credits and tied to local wages.
“Our housing market is skewing not because of us, but because of outside buyers—mainland buyers—who are able to come here and buy property and pay more than we can,” said affordable housing developer Peter Savio. “Any real estate market, by definition, is local in nature, which tells you real estate has to be tied to wages.”
Otherwise, the lawmakers say more local people will be priced out of paradise. And they fear our local workforce will be decimated.
“The secret is let’s reduce the cost of ownership,” Savio said. “One way to reduce the cost of ownership is to increase the tax benefits.”
The Rebublican lawmakers acknowledge it will be hard to get everyone on board, but said we’re running out of time to make changes that will help our people continue to live here at home.
We reached out to Democratic lawmakers for their opinion, but did not get a response.