About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

2021 Op. Haw. Att'y Gen. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.sag/saghi0098 and id is 1 raw text is: 




DAVID Y. IGE                                                   CLARE E. CONNORS
GOVERNOR                                                        ATTORNEY GENERAL

                             STATE OF HAWAII                   HOLLY T. SHIKADA
                       DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL    FIRST DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
                               425 QUEEN STREET
                               HONOLULU, HAWAI 96813
                               (808) 586-1500


                          September  22, 2021


 The  Honorable Isaac  W. Choy
 Director  of Taxation
 State  of Hawaii
 830  Punchbowl Street
 Honolulu,  Hawaii  96813-5094

 Dear  Director Choy:

            RE:  Hawaii  General Excise Tax  and Use Tax on
                 Activities  Occurring Within  the Hawaii
                 Foreign-Trade  Zone and  Sub-zones.

       This opinion  responds to your request  for clarification  as
  to whether the Foreign-Trade  Zones Act  of 1934, codified  as
  amended at 19 U.S.C.  §§ 81a-81u  (2016) (FTZA), preempts  the
  State from imposing  general excise and  use tax on activity
  conducted within  a foreign-trade zone  (FTZ).

  I.   ISSUE PRESENTED  AND SHORT ANSWER

       Your request  concerns the conclusions  reached in Attorney
  General Opinion No.  64-52, dated November  5, 1964, and  in
  subsequent opinions  and other legal advice,  including,  but not
  limited to, the memorandum  designated  OP:85:812-1, dated
  October 23, 1985.

       Specifically,  Opinion No. 64-52  concluded that  Congress
  has assumed exclusive  regulatory powers  within the zone,  and no
  local regulation  may interfere with  these powers.  Based  on the
  facts and assumptions  identified therein,  and based on  the
  foregoing conclusion  as to the law at  the time, the opinion
  further concluded  that: neither the  general excise tax  nor the
  consumption tax  would apply on account  of sales made within  the
  zone or on account  of goods imported  into the zone.   In the
  years since Opinion  No. 64-52 was  issued, the law changed  and it
  is now clear that  not all state taxes  are preempted by  the FTZA.


Op. No. 21-01

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most