Hawaii Wants Tourists to Pay for Paradise
The Big Picture: Starting in 2026, every sunset-chasing visitor to the Aloha State will chip in for climate resilience. A new 0.75% “Green Fee” tacked onto hotel stays and even cruise cabins will push Hawaii’s statewide Transient Accommodations Tax to 11%, and up to 14% once county surcharges are added, Earth.Org reports.
The Details:
• For a US$400 nightly room, travelers will fork over an extra $3.
• Lawmakers expect roughly US$100 million a year to flow into environmental protection and climate-adaptation projects.
• Cruise lines, long exempt, are now in the tax net, and they’re not waving leis. The Cruise Lines International Association has sued in U.S. District Court, branding the levy unconstitutional.
Why It Matters / What They’re Saying: Tourism funds almost a quarter of Hawaii’s GDP, but the same 10 million annual visitors strain reefs, trails, and water supplies already battered by rising temperatures. Environmental advocates call the fee “a down payment on preservation,” while cruise operators warn it will “penalize responsible travel.” The reaction was swift, and the courtroom will decide whether the islands’ climate piggy-bank sets sail or sinks.
Around the Tax World
• French Wealth Fight: Economist Gabriel Zucman says a 2% wealth tax on 1,800 households could raise €20 billion, after Bernard Arnault blasted him as a “pseudo-academic” (RFI).
• UAE Goes Crypto-Compliant: The Emirates will launch the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) on 20 Sept 2025, gearing up for automatic data exchange by 2028 (Times of India).
• HIRE Act Sticker Shock: A U.S. bill slaps a 25% excise tax on payments to offshore service providers, critics say it’s a service-sector tariff in disguise (Bloomberg Law News).
• Zambia’s Transfer-Pricing Precedent: Nestlé Zambia lost a Supreme Court battle and must pay about $573,000 after continuous losses drew auditor ire (Moneyweb).
By the Numbers
Tax Stat of the Day: US$100 million, the annual revenue Hawaii expects from its new Green Fee, is enough to fund dozens of shoreline-protection projects.
Looking Ahead
All eyes are on the federal courthouse as cruise giants square off with Hawaii. A ruling on the Green Fee’s constitutionality could drop early next year, just months before the levy is set to launch.