reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-12 Department to issue release; final settlement of account.

§236E-12 Department to issue release; final settlement of account.
(a) The department shall issue an automatic release of estate tax liability to the personal representative when:
(1) No estate tax is imposed by this chapter and upon the receipt of a request for a release, if the release includes the sworn statement of the personal representative or agent that in fact no taxes are due; or
(2) The estate taxes due under this chapter have been paid as prescribed in section 236E-9, and the request for a release includes the sworn statement of the personal representative that in fact all taxes due have been paid.
(b) The obtaining of a release shall confer upon the personal representative sufficient authority to effectuate the transfer of all property composing the decedent's estate. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-13 Amended returns; final determination.

§236E-13 Amended returns; final determination.
If the amount of the federal taxable estate reported on an estate's federal estate tax return is changed or corrected by the Internal Revenue Service, the person required to make and file the estate tax return under this chapter shall provide notice of the change or correction to the department by filing, within ninety days after the final determination of the change or correction, or as otherwise required by the department, an amended return under this chapter, and shall furnish to the department any information, schedules, records, documents or papers relating to the change or correction. The time for filing the return may be extended by the department upon a showing of due cause. If an additional tax under this chapter is required to be paid pursuant to the changed or amended return, the person required to pay the tax shall pay the additional tax, together with interest as provided in section 236E-10, at the same time the supplemental or amended return is filed. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-15 Sale of property to pay tax; creation of lien.

§236E-15 Sale of property to pay tax; creation of lien.
(a) Subject to chapter 560 and section 531-29, as applicable, a personal representative may sell any property necessary to pay the estate taxes due under this chapter. A personal representative may sell any property specifically bequeathed or devised as necessary to pay the proportionate amount of the taxes due on the transfer of the property and the fees and expenses of the sale, unless the legatee or devisee thereof pays the personal representative the proportionate amount of the taxes due.
(b) Unless any estate tax due is sooner paid in full, it shall be a lien upon the gross estate of the decedent for a period of ten years from the date of death, except that any part of the gross estate that is used for the payment of charges against the estate and expenses of its administration, allowed by any court having jurisdiction thereof, shall be divested of the lien. Liens created under this subsection shall be qualified as follows:
(1) The limitation period, as described in this subsection, in each case shall be extended for a period of time equal to the period of pendency of litigation of questions affecting the determination of the amount of tax due; provided that a lis pendens has been filed with the bureau of conveyances or land court in the county in which the property is located;
(2) Any part of the gross estate that is transferred to a bona fide purchaser shall be divested of the lien and the lien shall be transferred to the proceeds arising out of the transfer; and
(3) A mortgage on property pursuant to an order of court for payment of charges against the estate and expenses of administration shall constitute a lien upon the property prior and superior to the tax lien. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-16 Liability for failure to pay tax before distribution or delivery.

§236E-16 Liability for failure to pay tax before distribution or delivery.
(a) Any personal representative who distributes any property without first paying, securing another's payment of, or furnishing security for payment of the estate taxes due under this chapter shall be personally liable for the taxes due to the extent of the value of any property that may come or may have come into the possession of the personal representative. Security for payment of the estate taxes due under this chapter shall be in an amount not less than the value of all property that is or has come into the possession of the personal representative, as of the time the security is furnished.
(b) Any person who has the control, custody, or possession of any property and who delivers any of the property to the personal representative or legal representative of the decedent outside the State without first paying, securing another's payment of, or furnishing security for payment of the estate taxes due under this chapter shall be liable for the taxes to the extent of the value of the property delivered. Security for payment of the estate taxes due under this chapter shall be in an amount not less than the value of all property delivered to the personal representative or legal representative of the decedent outside the State by the person.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a person does not have control, custody, or possession of a decedent's property, if the person is not responsible for paying the tax due under this section.
For the purposes of this subsection, "person" may include but is not limited to a stockbroker or stock transfer agent, bank or other depository of checking and savings account, safe-deposit company, or life insurance company.
(d) For the purposes of this section, any person who has the control, custody, or possession of any property and who delivers any of the property to the personal representative or legal representative of the decedent may rely upon the release furnished by the department to the personal representative as evidence of compliance with the requirements of this chapter, and make any delivery and transfer as the personal representative may direct without being liable for any estate taxes due under this chapter. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-18 Administration by department; action for collection of tax; appeal.

§236E-18 Administration by department; action for collection of tax; appeal.
The department may collect the taxes provided for in this chapter, including applicable interest and penalties, and shall represent the State in all matters pertaining to this chapter, before any court or in any other manner. The department, through the attorney general, may institute proceedings for the collection of the taxes and any interest and penalties on the taxes.
The circuit court for any county that has assumed lawful jurisdiction over the property of the decedent for general probate or administration purposes under the laws of the State shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions in relation to the Hawaii estate tax arising under this chapter. If there are no probate or administration proceedings in any court of the State, the following court shall have jurisdiction:
(1) If the decedent was a resident, the circuit court for the county in which the decedent was a resident; or
(2) If the decedent was a nonresident, any court that has jurisdiction over the property of the decedent, the transfer of which is taxable, to issue probate or administration proceedings thereon, had the same been justified by the legal status of the property or had the same been applied for.
Any court first acquiring jurisdiction shall retain the same to the exclusion of every other. The tax appeal court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions in relation to the generation-skipping transfer tax arising under this chapter.
Any person aggrieved by any assessment of the tax imposed by this chapter may appeal from the assessment to a court of competent jurisdiction within the time set forth in section 235-114. The distribution of taxes paid pending the appeal shall be as provided in chapter 232. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-18.5 Audit of return; procedure upon failure to file return; additional taxes; limitation period.

§236E-18.5 Audit of return; procedure upon failure to file return; additional taxes; limitation period.
(a) The director of taxation, or the director's designee, is authorized and empowered to examine all account books, bank books, bank statements, records, vouchers, copies of federal tax returns, and any and all other documents and evidence having any relevance to the determination of any amount relevant to the Hawaii transfer tax, as required to be returned under this chapter, and the director may employ the director's powers under section 231-7 for these purposes.
(b) If the department discovers from the examination of the return or otherwise that any amount has not been assessed or otherwise properly included in determining any amount relevant to the Hawaii transfer tax, it may assess those amounts.
(c) If the person required to file the return required under this chapter fails to file the return or declines to authenticate a return, the department shall make a return for the person based upon the best information obtainable and shall levy and assess against the person the tax as shown on the return.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the department shall give notice of the assessment to the person required to file the return required under this chapter. The person put on notice shall have thirty days to confer with the department as to the proposed assessment. After the expiration of thirty days from the notification, the department shall finalize the assessment and give notice to the person of the tax and interest and penalties, if any. The amount shall be paid within twenty days after the date the notice, properly addressed to the person required to file the return required to be filed under this chapter, is mailed to the person's last known address.
(e) In the case of an audit commenced under this section, the amount of Hawaii transfer tax imposed by this chapter shall be assessed or levied within three years after the return was filed, or within three years of the due date prescribed for the filing of that return, whichever is later. In the case of a false or fraudulent return with intent to evade tax, or of a failure to file a return, the tax may be assessed or levied at any time; provided that the burden of proof with respect to the issues of falsity or intent to evade tax shall be upon the State. The limitation period shall be suspended if the person required to file the return agrees to suspend the period. [L 2018, c 27, §5]
Note
Section applies to decedents dying or taxable transfers occurring after December 31, 2017. L 2018, c 27, §15(2).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-19 Parent as natural guardian for purposes of sections 2032A and 2057 of the Internal Revenue Code.

§236E-19 Parent as natural guardian for purposes of sections 2032A and 2057 of the Internal Revenue Code.
A parent, without being appointed guardian of the person or conservator of the estate, or a conservator of the estate, or, if no conservator of the estate has been appointed, a guardian of the person, of any minor or disabled person whose interest is not adverse to the minor or disabled person, may make any election and sign, without court approval, any agreement on behalf of the minor or disabled person under:
(1) Section 2032A of the Internal Revenue Code for the valuation of property under that section; or
(2) Section 2057 of the Internal Revenue Code relating to deduction of the value of certain property under that section.
Any election so made, and any agreement so signed, shall have the same legal force and effect as if the election had been made and the agreement had been signed by the minor or disabled person and the minor or disabled person had been legally competent. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-20 Reimbursement.

§236E-20 Reimbursement.
If a person who pays the Hawaii transfer tax arising from a taxable transfer is entitled under the Internal Revenue Code or any other state or federal statute or rule of law to reimbursement of a portion of the federal transfer tax from any other person who has received transferred property, then, unless the governing document directs otherwise, the person who paid the Hawaii transfer tax shall be entitled to reimbursement from that other person of a portion of the Hawaii transfer tax. The amount of reimbursement shall be determined by multiplying the total Hawaii transfer tax by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the gross value of the transferred property received by that other person and having a tax situs in the State that gives rise to a right of reimbursement of the federal transfer tax, and the denominator of which shall be the gross value of all transferred property having a tax situs in the State. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-22 Expenses of court proceeding.

§236E-22 Expenses of court proceeding.
Whenever a circuit court certifies that probable cause exists for issuing a citation and taking proceedings under this chapter, the director of finance shall pay from the tax reserve fund provided in section 231-23(c)(2), or allow all expenses incurred for services of citation and other lawful disbursements that have not otherwise been paid. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-23 Who liable; amount.

§236E-23 Who liable; amount.
In addition to the amount of tax determined to be due under this chapter, every person who fails or refuses to perform, within a reasonable time, any duty required by this chapter, or who fails or refuses to make and deliver within a reasonable time any statement or record required by this chapter, shall forfeit to the State the additional sum of $10,000, to be recovered in an action brought by the attorney general in the name of the State. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-24 Agreements with other states for payment of tax imposed by this chapter.

§236E-24 Agreements with other states for payment of tax imposed by this chapter.
Where the department claims that transferred property has a tax situs in this State and the taxing authority of any other state claims the same transferred property is subject to a transfer tax in the other state, the department may enter into a written agreement with the taxing authority in the other state and with the person required to file the Hawaii transfer tax return or pay the Hawaii transfer tax that a certain sum shall be accepted in full payment of the tax imposed by this chapter; provided that the agreement also fixes the amount to be paid in full payment to the other state. The person required to file the Hawaii transfer tax return or pay the Hawaii transfer tax shall be authorized to enter into the agreement provided for in this section. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 236E. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax › 236E-25 Disclosure of federal return information.

§236E-25 Disclosure of federal return information.
When receipt of estate tax information from the Internal Revenue Service under section 6103(d) of the Internal Revenue Code discloses possible Hawaii estate tax liability, any person possessing federal estate tax information shall be required to submit the information to the department upon request to enable the department to audit the return or Internal Revenue Service audit adjustments and to determine whether any tax, penalty, or interest is due the State where such return information has not been filed with the department. A claim of confidentiality shall not prohibit the dissemination of tax information required under this section and shall not constitute grounds for failing or refusing to surrender the tax information to the department in the administration and enforcement of this chapter. Any tax information submitted in compliance with this section shall be treated and afforded with the same confidentiality as a return filed under section 235-116. [L 2012, c 220, pt of §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-2 "Business", "engaging" in business, defined.

§237-2 "Business", "engaging" in business, defined.
As used in this chapter:
"Business" includes all activities (personal, professional, or corporate) engaged in or caused to be engaged in with the object of gain or economic benefit either direct or indirect, but does not include casual sales.
"Engaging", with reference to engaging or continuing in business, includes the exercise of corporate or franchise powers. [L 1935, c 141, pt of §1; RL 1945, §5443; RL 1955, §117-2; HRS §237-2; am L 2017, c 12, §49]
Attorney General Opinions
Agreement of sale executed by a partnership dealing in land was not a "casual sale". Att. Gen. Op. 62-1.
Co-op apartment corporation operating and managing apartment building is engaged in business and is taxable on its receipts of monthly "maintenance" charges from stockholder-lessees. Att. Gen. Op. 62-47.
Application of excise tax to activities in foreign trade zone. Att. Gen. Op. 64-52.
Hawaii's general excise tax and use tax are not expressly preempted by the federal Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934, and Congress has not assumed exclusive regulatory powers in foreign-trade zones such that the State is preempted from imposing taxes on all activity within a foreign-trade zone. Ultimately, whether a state tax can be applied to a particular activity within a foreign-trade zone depends on whether the tax conflicts with the purposes and objectives of the federal Act. Att. Gen. Op. 21-01.
Case Notes
"Casual sale" does not exclude unusual sales within taxpayer's business. 40 H. 722 (1955).
Attorney's activities as trustee, executor and corporate director were not so isolated or unconnected as to constitute "casual" transactions. 53 H. 435, 496 P.2d 1 (1972).
Engaging in activity with "object of gain or economic benefit" construed. 53 H. 435, 496 P.2d 1 (1972).
Out-of-state company's continuing leasing of telecast rights performable only in Hawaii is "business" within this section, although agreement consummated outside of Hawaii. 57 H. 175, 554 P.2d 242 (1976).
Nondomiciliary corporation investing capital in Hawaiian land held to be "engaging in business." 57 H. 436, 559 P.2d 264 (1977).
Taxability of transactions between joint venture and its member. 59 H. 307, 582 P.2d 703 (1978).
Where taxpayer gained or economically benefited from subleasing transactions, the director's assessment and imposition of the general excise tax for taxpayer's subleasing activities was proper. 110 H. 25, 129 P.3d 528 (2006).
Taxpayer partnership's provision of medical equipment and ancillary services to its joint venture constituted "business" under this section and was thus made subject to the general excise tax by §237-20. 93 H. 267 (App.), 999 P.2d 865 (2000).
Cited: 48 H. 486, 490, 405 P.2d 382 (1965).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-2.5 Engaging in business in the State.

§237-2.5 Engaging in business in the State.
A person is engaging in business in the State, whether or not the person has a physical presence in the State, if in the current or immediately preceding calendar year:
(1) The person's gross income or gross proceeds from the sale of tangible personal property delivered in the State, services used or consumed in the State, or intangible property used in the State is $100,000 or more; or
(2) The person sold tangible personal property delivered in the State, services used or consumed in the State, or intangible property used in the State in two hundred or more separate transactions. [L 2018, c 41, §1]
Note
Section applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. L 2018, c 41, §3.
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-4.5 Marketplace facilitators.

§237-4.5 Marketplace facilitators.
(a) A marketplace facilitator shall be deemed the seller of tangible personal property, intangible property, or services and the seller on whose behalf the sale is made shall be deemed to be making a sale at wholesale pursuant to section 237-4.
(b) For purposes of section 237-3, a marketplace facilitator's gross income or gross proceeds of sale include receipts from sales on behalf of other sellers under subsection (a).
(c) Any person other than a marketplace facilitator who provides a forum, whether physical or electronic, in which sellers list or advertise tangible personal property, intangible property, or services for sale and takes or processes sales orders shall:
(1) Post a conspicuous notice on its forum that informs purchasers intending to purchase tangible personal property, intangible property, or services for delivery to or use at a location in this State that the purchaser is required to pay use tax if the sale is made from an unlicensed seller;
(2) Provide a written notice to each purchaser at the time of each sale of tangible personal property, intangible property, or services for delivery to or use at a location in this State that the purchaser may be required to remit use tax directly to the department and provide instructions for obtaining additional information from the department on whether and how to remit use tax to the department; and
(3) No later than the twentieth day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year, submit a report to the department that includes, with respect to each purchaser of tangible personal property, intangible property, or services delivered to or used at a location in this State, all of the following:
(A) The purchaser's name, billing address, and mailing address;
(B) If the sale involved the purchase of tangible personal property, the address in this State to which the tangible personal property was delivered to the purchaser;
(C) The aggregate dollar amount of the purchaser's purchases from the seller; and
(D) The name and address of the seller that made the sale to the purchaser;
provided that the person, in lieu of complying with the notice and reporting requirements in this subsection, may elect to be deemed the seller of tangible personal property, intangible property, or services as provided in subsection (a).
(d) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (c) and has not elected to be deemed the seller of tangible personal property, intangible property, or services unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to neglect, shall be assessed a penalty of $1,000 if the failure is for not more than one month, with an additional $1,000 for each additional month or fraction thereof during which the failure continues, not exceeding $12,000 in the aggregate. [L 2019, c 2, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-5 "Producer" defined.

§237-5 "Producer" defined.
"Producer" means any person engaged in the business of raising and producing agricultural products in their natural state, or in producing natural resource products, or engaged in the business of fishing or aquaculture, for sale, or for shipment or transportation out of the State, of the agricultural or aquaculture products in their natural or processed state, or butchered and dressed, or the natural resource products, or fish.
As used in this section "agricultural products" include floricultural, horticultural, viticultural, forestry, nut, coffee, dairy, livestock, poultry, bee, animal, and any other farm, agronomic, or plantation products. [L 1935, c 141, pt of §1; RL 1945, §5447; RL 1955, §117-6; am L 1957, c 34, §11(b); HRS §237-5; am L 1982, c 253, §1; am L 1984, c 73, §3]
Case Notes
Cited: 41 H. 615, 619 (1957).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-6 "Contractor", "contracting", "federal cost-plus contractor", defined.

§237-6 "Contractor", "contracting", "federal cost-plus contractor", defined.
"Contracting" means the business activities of a contractor.
"Contractor" includes, for purposes of this chapter:
(1) Every person engaging in the business of contracting to erect, construct, repair, or improve buildings or structures, of any kind or description, including any portion thereof, or to make any installation therein, or to make, construct, repair, or improve any highway, road, street, sidewalk, ditch, excavation, fill, bridge, shaft, well, culvert, sewer, water system, drainage system, dredging or harbor improvement project, electric or steam rail, lighting or power system, transmission line, tower, dock, wharf, or other improvements;
(2) Every person engaging in the practice of architecture, professional engineering, land surveying, and landscape architecture, as defined in section 464-1; and
(3) Every person engaged in the practice of pest control or fumigation as a pest control operator as defined in section 460J-1.
"Federal cost-plus contractor" means a contractor having a contract with the United States or an instrumentality thereof, excluding national banks, where, by the terms of the contract, the United States or such instrumentality, excluding national banks, agrees to reimburse the contractor for the cost of material, plant, or equipment used in the performance of the contract and for taxes which the contractor may be required to pay with respect to such material, plant, or equipment, whether the contractor's profit is computed in the form of a fixed fee or on a percentage basis; and also means a subcontractor under such a contract, who also operates on a cost-plus basis. [L 1935, c 141, pt of §1; am L 1941, c 265, §1(b); am L 1943, c 81, §1(a); RL 1945, §5448; RL 1955, §117-7; am L 1965, c 201, §36; HRS §237-6; am L 1971, c 4, §1 and c 204, §3; am L 1984, c 60, §1; am L 2000, c 198, §2]
Case Notes
"Structures" does not include boats and vessels, and taxpayer engaged in repair of marine vessels is not a "contractor". 55 H. 572, 524 P.2d 890 (1974).
Cited: 44 H. 584, 587, 358 P.2d 539 (1961).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-7 "Service business or calling", defined.

§237-7 "Service business or calling", defined.
"Service business or calling" includes all activities engaged in for other persons for a consideration which involve the rendering of a service, including professional and transportation services, as distinguished from the sale of tangible property or the production and sale of tangible property. "Service business or calling" does not include the services rendered by an employee to the employee's employer. [L 1935, c 141, pt of §1; RL 1945, §5449; am L 1951, c 165, §1; RL 1955, §117-8; HRS §237-7; am L 1983, c 206, §3; gen ch 1985; am L 1999, c 71, §5; am L Sp 2001 3d, c 9, §2]
Case Notes
Services rendered by retailers in promoting sales of commodities for which they received payment from the manufacturers and sellers of the commodities constituted non-professional activities within meaning of section. 51 H. 281, 458 P.2d 664 (1969).
Taxpayer may be subject to both the service business and retailing classifications to extent each is applicable to particular items of gross income. 53 H. 450, 497 P.2d 37 (1972).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-8 Administration and enforcement by department.

§237-8 Administration and enforcement by department.
The administration of this chapter is vested in and shall be exercised by the department of taxation, which shall prescribe forms and reasonable rules of procedure in conformity with this chapter for the making of returns and for the ascertainment, assessment, and collection of the taxes imposed hereunder. Such forms and rules, when prescribed by the department and printed and published in the manner provided by law shall have the force and effect of law. The enforcement of this chapter in any of the courts of the State is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the department, which shall require the assistance of the attorney general of the State, the respective county attorneys and the prosecuting attorney of the counties where suit is brought; but these attorneys shall receive no fees or compensation for services rendered in enforcing this chapter in addition to the respective salaries paid by law to them.
The department shall have, in addition to all of the duties and powers herein prescribed or granted, all the duties and powers prescribed or granted by the existing or future tax laws of the State so far as the same may be applicable to the administration of this chapter and are not contrary to the express provisions hereof. [L 1935, c 141, §20; RL 1945, §5450; RL 1955, §117-9; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §16; HRS §237-8]
Case Notes
Section makes applicable to this chapter all the provisions of the state tax laws. 44 H. 584, 595, 358 P.2d 539 (1961).
Economy in administration is a proper factor for consideration in assessment of taxes. 56 H. 321, 536 P.2d 91 (1975).
Construe excise tax law in relation to income tax law. 56 H. 644, 547 P.2d 1343 (1976).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-9.3 General excise tax benefits; denial of tax benefits for failure to properly claim.

§237-9.3 General excise tax benefits; denial of tax benefits for failure to properly claim.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a person shall not be entitled to any general excise tax benefit under this chapter unless the person claiming the general excise tax benefit:
(1) Obtains a license to engage in and conduct business as required under section 237-9; and
(2) Files the annual general excise tax reconciliation tax return as provided under this chapter or chapter 231 not later than twelve months from the due date prescribed for the return.
(b) The director may require any taxpayer to furnish information to determine the validity of any general excise tax benefit and may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
(c) The director may waive the denial of the general excise tax benefit under subsection (a) if the failure to comply is due to reasonable cause and not to the wilful neglect of the taxpayer.
(d) The director shall first give written notice to a nonprofit organization to comply with the requirements of this section before imposing a denial of any general excise tax benefit under this chapter, and the organization shall have ninety days from the date of the receipt of the notice to comply with the requirements.
(e) For purposes of this section:
"General excise tax benefit" means any tax exemption, exclusion of a taxable amount, a reduction from the measure of a tax imposed, a tax deduction, a tax credit, a lower rate of tax, a segregation or division of taxable amounts between multiple taxpayers involved in the same transaction, or any income splitting allowed under this chapter.
"Nonprofit organization" means a corporate entity, association, or other duly chartered entity that is registered with the State and is exempt from the application of this chapter pursuant to section 237-23(a)(3), (4), (5), (6), or (7). [L 2010, c 155, pt of §2; am L 2012, c 219, §1; am L 2013, c 52, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-9.5 No separate licensing, filing, or liability for certain revocable trusts.

§237-9.5 No separate licensing, filing, or liability for certain revocable trusts.
In the case of any trust that, for state and federal income tax reporting purposes:
(1) Has no registration or filing requirements separate and apart from its grantor or grantors;
(2) Is subject to the requirement that all items of income, deduction, and credit are to be reported by the individual grantor or grantors; and
(3) Is revocable by the grantor or grantors;
no licensing, registration, or filing requirements under this chapter shall apply; provided that the individual grantor or grantors must be licensed under this chapter and pay the appropriate general excise tax on trust income, if the trust income is from engaging in business.
[L 1994, c 12, §2]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-10.5 Reporting requirement for contractors on federal construction projects.

§237-10.5 Reporting requirement for contractors on federal construction projects.
All persons who do not possess a valid license under this chapter at the time of the contract award and who contract with the federal government for any construction project located in the State shall report to the department, on forms prescribed by the department, its estimated gross receipts or any other information requested by the department on the prescribed form, from the construction project within thirty days of the contract being awarded. Failure to report as provided in this section shall result in a penalty of $1,000 per month, or fraction thereof, for each month that a failure to report exists; provided that the maximum penalty allowed under this section in the aggregate shall not be more than $6,000. [L 2009, c 134, § §3, 13(3); am L 2013, c 58, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-11 Tax year.

§237-11 Tax year.
The assessment of taxes herein made and the returns required therefor shall be for the year ending on December 31. If the taxpayer, in exercising a privilege taxable under this chapter, keeps the taxpayer's books reflecting the same on a basis other than the calendar year, the taxpayer may, with the assent of the department of taxation, and upon the direction of the department shall, make the taxpayer's annual returns and pay taxes for the year covering the taxpayer's accounting period as shown by the method of keeping the taxpayer's books. [L 1935, c 141, §10; RL 1945, §5452; RL 1955, §117-12; am L 1957, c 34, §4; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §16; HRS §237-11; gen ch 1985]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-12 Tax cumulative; extent of license.

§237-12 Tax cumulative; extent of license.
(a) The tax imposed by this chapter shall be in addition to the license fee imposed under section 237-9 and all other taxes levied by law as a condition precedent to engaging in any business, trade, or calling. A person exercising a privilege taxable under this chapter, subject to the payment of the license fee imposed under section 237-9, which is a condition precedent to exercising the privilege taxed, may exercise the privilege upon the condition that the person shall pay the tax accruing under this chapter.
(b) In the case of any person entitled to the protection of section 237-9(d), the tax shall be collected only through ordinary means. [L 1935, c 141, §11; RL 1945, §5453; RL 1955, §117-13; am L 1959, c 277, §1; HRS §237-12; gen ch 1985; am L 1989, c 6, §2; am L 2009, c 134, § §7, 13(3); am L 2013, c 58, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-13.5 Assessment on generated electricity.

§237-13.5 Assessment on generated electricity.
Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, the levy and assessment of the general excise tax on the gross proceeds from the sale of electric power to a public utility company for resale to the public, shall be made only as a tax on the business of a producer, at the rate assessed producers, under section 237-13(2)(A). [L 1980, c 78, §2; am L 1981, c 103, §1; am L 1985, c 211, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-13.8 Sales of telecommunications services through prepaid telephone calling service.

§237-13.8 Sales of telecommunications services through prepaid telephone calling service.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "prepaid telephone calling service" means the right to exclusively purchase telecommunication services, paid for in advance, that enables the origination of calls using an access number or authorization code, whether manually or electronically dialed.
(b) If the sale or recharge of a prepaid telephone calling service does not take place at the vendor's place of business, it shall be conclusively determined to take place at the customer's shipping address; or if there is no item shipped, then it shall be the customer's billing address.
(c) When a person licensed under this chapter sells prepaid telephone calling services to a licensed retail merchant, jobber, or other licensed seller for purposes of resale, the person shall be taxed as a wholesaler selling tangible personal property. All other sales of prepaid telephone calling services shall be taxed as retail sales of tangible personal property.
(d) For purposes of prepaid telephone calling services only, all such services shall be taxed under this section and shall be in lieu of taxation under chapter 239. [L 2000, c 27, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-14 Segregation of gross income, etc., on records and in returns.

§237-14 Segregation of gross income, etc., on records and in returns.
The imposition of taxes and the application of tax rates do not depend upon the business in which the taxpayer is primarily engaged. One business may be subject to two or more tax rates. If a business is within the purview of two or more of the paragraphs of section 237-13 or other provisions of this chapter all of them apply, each provision being applicable to the appropriate item of gross income, gross proceeds of sales, or value of products. However, any person engaging or continuing in a business having gross income, gross proceeds of sales, and value of products, or any of these as the case may be, taxable at different rates, shall be subject to taxation upon the aggregate amount of the gross income, gross proceeds of sales, and value of products of the business at the highest rate applicable to any part of the aggregate, unless the person shall segregate the parts taxable at different rates upon the person's records and in the person's returns, and shall sustain the burden of proving that the segregation was correctly made. [L 1957, c 34, §11(h); Supp, §117-14.1; HRS §237-14; gen ch 1985]
Case Notes
Taxpayer may be subject to both the service business and retailing classifications to extent each is applicable to particular items of gross income. 53 H. 450, 497 P.2d 37 (1972).
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-14.5 Segregation of gross income, etc., on records and in returns of telecommunications businesses.

§237-14.5 Segregation of gross income, etc., on records and in returns of telecommunications businesses.
(a) Notwithstanding section 237-14, any person engaged in the business of selling interstate or foreign common carrier telecommunications services taxable under section 237-13(6)(C), or any public utility defined in section 269-1 having gross income from the conveyance or transmission of telephone or telegraph messages, or from the furnishing of facilities for the transmission of intelligence by electricity, may reasonably segregate in the person's returns, based on its books and records that are kept in the normal course of business:
(1) The parts of its gross income, gross proceeds of sales, and value of products subject to taxation under this chapter from the parts subject to taxation under chapter 239; and
(2) The parts of its gross income, gross proceeds of sales, and value of products subject to taxation under one provision of this chapter from the parts subject to taxation under any other provision of this chapter.
(b) The segregation shall be deemed valid so long as the method of segregation does not conflict with rules subsequently adopted by the department pursuant to this section. [L 2002, c 236, §1; am L 2008, c 16, §7]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-15 Technicians.

§237-15 Technicians.
When technicians supply dentists or physicians with dentures, orthodontic devices, braces, and similar items which have been prepared by the technician in accordance with specifications furnished by the dentist or physician, and such items are to be used by the dentist or physician in the dentist's or physician's professional practice for a particular patient who is to pay the dentist or physician for the same as a part of the dentist's or physician's professional services, the technician shall be taxed as though the technician were a manufacturer selling a product to a licensed retailer, rather than at the rate of four per cent which is generally applied to professions and services. [L 1955, c 217, §1; RL 1955, §117-14.5; am L Sp 1957, c 1, §3(t); am L 1965, c 155, §14(i); HRS §237-15; gen ch 1985]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-16.8 Exemption of certain convention, conference, and trade show fees.

§237-16.8 Exemption of certain convention, conference, and trade show fees.
In addition to any other applicable exemption provided under this chapter, there shall be exempted from the measure of taxes imposed by this chapter all of the value or gross income derived by a fraternal benefit, religious, charitable, scientific, educational, or other nonprofit organization under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, from fees for convention, conference, or trade show exhibit or display spaces; provided that the gross proceeds of sales by a vendor through the use of exhibit or display space at a conference, convention, or trade show shall be subject to the imposition of the general excise tax under section 237-13. [L 2004, c 214, §1]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-17 Persons with impaired sight, hearing, or who are totally disabled.

§237-17 Persons with impaired sight, hearing, or who are totally disabled.
Anything in section 237-13 to the contrary notwithstanding, the privilege tax levied, assessed, and collected on account of the business or other activities of individuals who are blind, deaf, or totally disabled, corporations all of whose outstanding shares are owned by individuals who are blind, deaf, or totally disabled, general, limited, or limited liability partnerships, all of whose partners are blind, deaf, or totally disabled, or limited liability companies, all of whose members are blind, deaf, or totally disabled, shall not exceed one-half of one per cent of the proceeds, sales, income, or other receipts subject to tax. For the purpose of this chapter "blind", "deaf", or "totally disabled" is defined as in section 235-1. The impairment of sight or hearing, or the disability, shall be certified to as provided in section 235-1. [L 1947, c 213, §8; am L 1953, c 139, §4; RL 1955, §117-15; am L 1959, c 246, §12; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §19; am L 1960, c 4, §5; am L 1961, c 177, §2; am L 1966, c 28, §7; HRS §237-17; am L 1973, c 91, §2; am L 1988, c 81, §2; am L 2002, c 110, §2]
2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 14. Taxation › 237. General Excise Tax Law › 237-20 Principles applicable in certain situations.

§237-20 Principles applicable in certain situations.
A person or company having shareholders or members (a corporation, association, group, trust, partnership, joint adventure, or other person) is taxable upon its business with them, and they are taxable upon their business with it. A person or company, whether or not called a cooperative, through which shareholders or members are pursuing a common objective (for example, the obtaining of property or services for their individual businesses or use, or the marketing of their individual products) is a taxable person, and such facts do not give rise to any tax exemption or tax benefit except as specifically provided. Even though a business has some of the aspects of agency it shall not be so regarded unless it is a true agency. The reimbursement of costs or advances made for or on behalf of one person by another shall not constitute gross income of the latter, unless the person receiving such reimbursement also receives additional monetary consideration for making such costs or advances. [L 1957, c 34, §11(i); am L 1965, c 201, §24; Supp, §117-17.1; am L 1967, c 297, §2; HRS §237-20; am L 1985, c 303, §1; am L 1986, c 340, §8]
Law Journals and Reviews
Rule of Strict Construction in Tax Cases, a Question of Classification or Exemption. 11 HBJ, no. 4, at 98 (1975).
Case Notes
Amounts received from manufacturer by taxpayer for warranty service work constituted, not reimbursement, but taxable gross income. 56 H. 321, 536 P.2d 91 (1975).
"Cost" means monetary amount paid out by taxpayer for property or service furnished by a third party. 56 H. 321, 536 P.2d 91 (1975).
Payments by joint venture to member for services rendered joint venture were subject to general excise taxation. 59 H. 307, 582 P.2d 703 (1978).
The reimbursement provision of this section did not apply to taxpayer where taxpayer did not pay any costs or made any advances to the landlords and the record did not indicate that the taxpayer received a reimbursement of a cost or advance. 110 H. 25, 129 P.3d 528 (2006).
Taxpayer partnership's provision of medical equipment and ancillary services to its joint venture constituted "business" under §237-2 and was thus made subject to the general excise tax by this section. 93 H. 267 (App.), 999 P.2d 865 (2000).