Hawaii Transient Occupancy Tax (Aulani owners and guests)

[OhioDVC]

P.S.

Do you realize that according to Florida law, if you rent out your DVC timeshare and receive payment you are required to correct Florida sales/room tax.

 

[DenLo]

P.S.

Do you realize that according to Florida law, if you rent out your DVC timeshare and receive payment you are required to correct Florida sales/room tax.

I was wondering if anyone would mention that little detail. The one time rent points that you can get from DVC withhold the Florida room tax. ($13.33 plus $1.67 tax = $15)

 

[missy2217]

Thanks.....Living in NY Hawaii will not be a regular trip. I might get to check it off the bucket list a little sooner with Disney's new resort....but I can't imagine going back more than once. The flight is too long and there are beautiful beaches in the Caribbean and Fire island.

The tax will not defer me from making the trek there.....the distance will keep me from returning frequently. I'm curious if a lot East Coasters bought at Aulani.
Kerri

I have to agree with Kerri on this one. Hawaii is a LONG HAUL, and I don't know if I will be doing it.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

but I am totally amazed at the opposition to the transient tax on Aulani.

I fully understand that taxes are necessary for the government to function, and that a functioning government is necessary for the country. I agree we all have a patriotic duty to pay whatever taxes are owed.

And yet we all have the right to, er, gripe about taxes and try and change the law so other people have to pay them.

 

[jodifla]

Lets not forget, our Vice-President says it is our patriotic duty to pay taxes.

There is no free lunch.

DVC is just a drop in the bucket when you look at all of the timeshares in Hawaii, DVC will not get this law changed.

If you boycott Aulani because of the transient tax, you should boycott ALL vacation travel because we can't leave our houses without paying taxes.

Embrace the change and dream of the Pacific ocean waves crashing down on Aulani's beach.

I for one am planning a 3 week stay for Dec 2012/Jan 2013 and I'm already counting down the days!

I would expect to pay a FAIR tax, like we already do in Florida that's included in our dues. 40 bucks of tax a night is ridiculous.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The figures I posted for ChiSoxKeith are for the whole week (based on 322 points).
Per day, it would be about $7.20, $9.12, or $27.50.

I thought it needed to be reiterated that these would be the PER DAY taxes for a stay requiring 322 points. That is NOT the $40 per day we first thought. I've decided up to $30 a day is okay....beyond that...not okay.

I'm in the process of planning a return to Hawaii for 2013, so I'll be watching this issue closely! FYI, I have decided staying at Aulani is too rich for my blood. I'm going to try and do an exchange and make it to an island of my choosing that is NOT Oahu.

 

[DenLo]

I thought it needed to be reiterated that these would be the PER DAY taxes for a stay requiring 322 points. That is NOT the $40 per day we first thought. I've decided up to $30 a day is okay....beyond that...not okay.

I'm in the process of planning a return to Hawaii for 2013, so I'll be watching this issue closely! FYI, I have decided staying at Aulani is too rich for my blood. I'm going to try and do an exchange and make it to an island of my choosing that is NOT Oahu.

But keep in mine that is the rate for a 1BR, a 2BR would be higher and a studio would be less and different views would be less as well since the above figures were for an oceanview 1BR. For me it would be best to remember the rate per point cost.

From a post by DVC John: The $0.1993375 per point would be the new rate if HB 809 passes (which is likely).
If HB 1163 passes, then multiply that figure by 3 to get the new rate.

 

[dis-happy]

Wonder how much the HI transient tax would be if you slept in your rental car....

 

[DenLo]

Wonder how much the HI transient tax would be if you slept in your rental car....

Well you'll still get hit with the 4.712% (the state has a 4% and the counties and cities add on more) Hawaii Excise Tax for your rental car.

If believe hotel rooms pay both taxes, the 4.712% HI Excise Tax and the 9.25% Transient Accommodations tax.

Does anyone know if timeshares pay the excise tax as well, or are they exempt?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Wonder how much the HI transient tax would be if you slept in your rental car....

Actually, that is a HUGE problem on Oahu. The Asian flights get in during the night, and the vacationers just "camp out" on the park benches etc, until they get into their resorts. At least, that's what I thought was going on. Maybe it's just that they have a lot of homeless, I don't know.

 

[bwvBound]

Actually, that is a HUGE problem on Oahu. The Asian flights get in during the night, and the vacationers just "camp out" on the park benches etc, until they get into their resorts. At least, that's what I thought was going on. Maybe it's just that they have a lot of homeless, I don't know.

Oh, great idea for saving 40'ish points on our arrival night! I'll have to pitch it to my husband ... we know plenty of beaches north of Ko'Olina where we might fit in un-noticed.

 

[dvc_john]

I thought it needed to be reiterated that these would be the PER DAY taxes for a stay requiring 322 points. That is NOT the $40 per day we first thought. I've decided up to $30 a day is okay....beyond that...not okay.

Diane, the $42/day rate I posted earlier was for a 2-br Magic Season (70 points/day)
The $27.50/day rate is for a 1-br (46 points/day)
And both assume HB 1163 passes, which at this point is uncertain.

 

[mdsd8700]

I wouldn't like to pay the additional tax, especially if both bills passed. However it wouldn't detour us from taking the trip (hoping Summer 2012). We haven't been to Hawaii in 7 years. Wasn't overly interested in going again until Aulani opened, the resort just looks amazing and really appeals to us. Chances are we wouldn't go for another 5-7 years again so the additional tax doesn't really factor in due to the infrequency of our trips.

 

[mdsd8700]

I wouldn't like to pay the additional tax, especially if both bills passed. However it wouldn't detour us from taking the trip (hoping Summer 2012). We haven't been to Hawaii in 7 years. Wasn't overly interested in going again until Aulani opened, the resort just looks amazing and really appeals to us. Chances are we wouldn't go for another 5-7 years again so the additional tax doesn't really factor in due to the infrequency of our trips.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

Wonder how much the HI transient tax would be if you slept in your rental car....

They'll tax the street.

 

[Plutofan]

P.S.

Do you realize that according to Florida law, if you rent out your DVC timeshare and receive payment you are required to correct Florida sales/room tax.

With all the timeshares in Florida and all the uncollected tax from rentals of timeshares I would not be surprsied if Florida changes the law in the future.

 

[taaren]

So the state revenue is drawn from the real estate owner regardless. I am not sure the details of the Hawaii laws, but if you own a house and do not live in it over 180 days, do you have to pay transient tax? It sounds like this is merely a timeshare tax, which they have created as a seperate type of real estate owner. Florida has treated their timeshare owners the same as any other property owner....

Hawaii treats property owners in three main groups: owner-occupant, income generating, undeveloped (at least those are the three my parents fall into). Thankfully the owner-occupant and undeveloped taxes are quite low as we do have a high income tax and the cost of living is already one of the highest in the country and wages are some of the lowest. The state is also currently in the process of cutting pensions for government employees and most state and county workers (including myself and DH) have been furloughed for the last two years, similar to many other states. The TAT always existed for hotels, just imposing it on timeshares is new.
Many 'winterbirds' own condos outright here and come to live in it for 3-5 months, then go back to their mainland/Canada homes for the rest of the year. Their property tax is owner-occupant as long as they do not rent out the property when they are not in it. BTW, these are the same people that made real estate prices here skyrocket so that those of us that were born and raised in the islands and can no longer afford to own our own homes here.

I'm not sure why people seem so upset about this tax. To me this falls into the same category as whether or not to tip Mousekeeping, etc. If a $14/night tax is going to break your budget on a trip anywhere, why do you own DVC? Why do you travel to expensive places such as WDW, DLR, Hawaii?

 

[DenLo]

. . . . .

I'm not sure why people seem so upset about this tax. To me this falls into the same category as whether or not to tip Mousekeeping, etc. If a $14/night tax is going to break your budget on a trip anywhere, why do you own DVC? Why do you travel to expensive places such as WDW, DLR, Hawaii?

Good question. I think that many DVC members have joined in order to reduce their expenses for a Disney vacation. And some are stretching their dollars as far as they can.

The really worry is that if the occupancy tax becomes the standard in Hawaii it will spread to other cash strapped states and all timeshares will be taxed. Then many who can barely afford their vacations now will lose them and they might have to sell their memberships.

I know it seems ridiculous when so many are having to cut back on essentials. But no one likes to pay more taxes than they have too.

 

[pilferk]

Yes I know DVC members pay property tax in their mx fees but property tax is also included in the price of the room for a hotel stay

Not really.

DISNEY pays the property taxes on their hotels. They may use the revenue generated by guest stays to pay that amount, just like they do to cover the rest of their overhead. But Hotel guests do NOT have the property tax bill issued in their name. They are not directly liable to pay that tax, and you'll find no line item for it on any hotel bill. If Disney doesn't pay their property taxes, the guest will not have a Florida Tax official banging on their door, or dragging them into court, for not paying their taxes.

For timeshare owners..that's not the case. While Disney does COLLECT those taxes as part of our annual dues, they submit the taxes in the owners name. If Disney, for some reason, did NOT submit those taxes, the OWNER would still be liable. Yes, they'd have recourse against Disney, but they would have to pay their tax liability FIRST and pursue Disney for damages SECOND.

I agree that, functionally, money from someone staying on property eventually finds it's way to the Florida Tax roles. But the two methods are apples and oranges.

Further, to create an analogy:

I expect to pay tax when I rent a car from a rental agency. A valid "sales" transaction has taken place.

I expect to pay property tax on the cars I own. I own that property.

I don't expect to pay property tax on the car I own AND pay "use tax" on the same car...whether I use that car every day OR, since it's a "classic car", I choose only to roll it out of the garage on balmy Sunday afternoons. The fact that I "fractionally own" that classic car with some buddies, or that I only choose to use it during vacation, shouldn't have a lick to do with it. No "sales" transaction has taken place that's generating additional revenue...I'm simply using what I already bought.

 

[jodifla]

Good question. I think that many DVC members have joined in order to reduce their expenses for a Disney vacation. And some are stretching their dollars as far as they can.

The really worry is that if the occupancy tax becomes the standard in Hawaii it will spread to other cash strapped states and all timeshares will be taxed. Then many who can barely afford their vacations now will lose them and they might have to sell their memberships.

I know it seems ridiculous when so many are having to cut back on essentials. But no one likes to pay more taxes than they have too.

We are ALREADY taxed on the property as OWNERS.

This second tax already shows no sign of being restrained. $14 a day not so bad you say..... oh wait, it's $27 a day....oh, how about now $40 a day? An extra $600s buck on a 2 week stay...when you've ALREADY INVESTED IN THE PROPERTY AND PAY TAXES... is too much.

Why not $100 a day? $400 a day?