Tom Yamachika
Tom Yamachika is president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi.
Latest from Tom Yamachika
Community Voices: SNAP disaster imminent
The good news is that we don’t have the worst error rate, and Hawaiʻi was just slightly above the national average. The bad news is that our error rate was 10.92% in 2025. Double digits mean triple penalties, and don’t expect anyone to cut us some slack when they take effect.
Tom YamachikaJuly 08, 2026
Community Voices: Now you see it, now you don’t
There’s no magic involved here, only taxes. Taxes you can see, and taxes you can’t. Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi revisits the barrel tax.
Tom YamachikaJuly 03, 2026
Community Voices: The art of the tax deal
We, the people, have an interest in the deals that our government is making. Especially if tax money, or government resources paid for by tax money, is part of the deal.
Tom YamachikaJune 24, 2026
Community Voices: Medicaid Fraud Control
Hawaiʻi's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was recently called a “complete disgrace" by Vice President J.D. Vance and was decertified. In response, Gov. Josh Green announced that he would create an “independent Medicaid Fraud Strike Force” whose mission is "to help identify waste, fraud and abuse, recommend corrective actions, assist in the recovery of taxpayer dollars where appropriate and strengthen systems designed to protect Medicaid recipients and public funds.” Let's hope this action catches the bad actors.
Tom YamachikaJune 16, 2026
Community Voices: Navigating the 'NIL'e
University of Hawaiʻi's Athletic Director Matt Elliott is determined to find a way to get millions in resources for college athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness (referred to as NIL). Although the Legislature tried to sink NIL funding, UH’s ship stubbornly refuses to go down, per the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi.
Tom YamachikaJune 09, 2026
Community Voices: Our Big Tax Bill Act
Senate Bill 3125 — signed into law on May 21 and became Act 24 — changes individual tax rates, adds a new millionaires’ tax bracket, adds limits to the solar credit, and gets rid of several different business tax credits over time.
Tom YamachikaJune 03, 2026
Community Voices: Changes to the solar credit
SB3125 proposes a few significant changes to the credit, making the solar industry unhappy. If the bill is enacted, here's what timelines taxpayers should know.
Tom YamachikaMay 25, 2026
Community Voices: Keep following the yellow brick road
A look at more Hawaiʻi tax bills on their way to Gov. Green’s desk.
Tom YamachikaMay 18, 2026
Community Voices: Follow the yellow brick road
Stay tuned for further news on the bills advancing toward the Land of Oz.
Tom YamachikaMay 11, 2026
Community Voices: Deciphering the budget
Tom Yamachika, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi, breaks down one of the budget bill entries and provides a resource that further explains the budgeting processes and appropriations.
Tom YamachikaMay 05, 2026
Community Voices: What’s dead — for now
Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi takes a look at "bills that had enough support to pass from one chamber to the other; the fact that most of these are House bills simply means that the Senate, this year, was less inclined to move ideas forward for further discussion."
Tom YamachikaApril 28, 2026
Community Voices: Where’s your second tax return — part 2
Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi details its latest win at the Legislature — submitting a redraft for HB2429 in testimony that would have forced residents to file a second, publicly available, tax return. Conference Committee meetings now begin.
Tom YamachikaApril 20, 2026
Community Voices: Conveyance Tax Fright
The Legislature is advancing bills to increase the conveyance tax on properties sold in Hawai‘i, without revealing by how much. The are "Blankety Blank" bills, with the most important numbers left out. Early drafts, however, did propose rate increases as much as four times higher than current rates.
Tom YamachikaApril 14, 2026
Community Voices: Additional car tax dead for now
This session, the Senate Transportation Committee saved all of us the trouble of worrying about HB2030's fate. It deferred the bill.
Tom YamachikaApril 06, 2026
Community Voices: Where’s your second tax return?
If passed, HB2429 would require you to file not just one tax return but two — and one of them will be open to the public.
Tom YamachikaMarch 30, 2026
Community Voices: Halftime report on tax bills
Gambling and recreational marijuana bills are dead but plenty of other new tax increases and incentives are still alive as bills cross over in the Hawai‘i state Legislature.
Tom YamachikaMarch 24, 2026
Community Voices: A taxing debate
House and Senate bills in motion, if adopted, will define our state income taxes for the next several years. Letʻs take a closer look.
Tom YamachikaMarch 17, 2026
Community Voices: Rental car loophole
Various bills in the Legislature propose to require car rental companies to pay 4.5% when they buy or import cars.
Tom YamachikaMarch 10, 2026
Community Voices: The Cruise Fee Quandary
The state argues that the Green Fee isn’t a tax on maritime traffic but the cruise ship industry says otherwise.
Tom YamachikaMarch 03, 2026
Community Voices: Use that hoarded tuition and fees now
If this special fund – almost $429 million as of June 2025 – cannot be deployed now by The University of Hawaiʻi, lawmakers will try to beat it out of the taxpayers, now.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 23, 2026
Community Voices: Pause versus stop
Amid a $3 billion budget shortfall, here's a proposal: no changes to tax cuts in 2026 and pause the tax cuts planned for 2027 through 2029.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 16, 2026