BUSINESS BRIEFS
'Tax Freedom Day' coming earlier
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i's so-called "Tax Freedom Day" is April 26 this year.
That's the projection of a ranking that attempts to boil down taxpayer burden by identifying how many days Hawai'i residents will have to work to pay their federal, state and local taxes. This year the day falls five days earlier than last year.
The analysis by the Tax Foundation shows nationally that Tax Freedom Day is projected to arrive on April 23 for the country as a whole, or three days earlier than in 2007. The group said a slowing economy and the upcoming federal tax stimulus payments are contributing to lower tax burdens.
The annual study has been criticized previously by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as being flawed because of problems with the methodology. The center says the study overstates the actual tax burden because it includes taxes paid by tourists, and it is skewed by a small group of higher-income taxpayers.
PEARL CITY GATEWAY ADVANCING
Demolition of several old military warehouse buildings at Manana recently began to make way for a future retail center to be anchored by Babies "R" Us, PETCO, Checker Auto Supply and Longs Drug.
The project, called Pearl City Gateway, is designed to be 150,000 square feet, with space for about 25 tenants, including some stand-alone buildings covering 13.5 acres near the Pearl City Wal-Mart.
California-based Robertson Properties Group is developing the property, which is a piece of a former Navy warehouse complex covering 124 acres that the city purchased in 1994 for $109 million with the thought to develop the area for city and commercial uses.
Construction of Pearl City Gateway is scheduled for spring 2009.
ISLE HONEY PRODUCTION DECLINES 1%
Hawai'i honey production fell to 920,000 pounds in 2007, a 1 percent decline from the previous year, according to the Hawai'i office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The number of honey-producing colonies totaled 10,000, unchanged from 2006.
Honey yield per colony averaged 92 pounds, down 1 percent from 2006. Honey producers received an average of $1.58 a pound for their product in 2007, 31 percent more than in 2006. Total farm value was $1.5 million, up 29 percent from the year before.
In early April, beekeepers on O'ahu encountered the varroa mite, a pest that is damaging to bee colonies, the NASS noted. Previously, Hawai'i was one of the few places known to be free of the mite.
"Some operations reported being negatively impacted by the mites," according to the NASS report.
"In other areas of the state, prolonged dry periods reduced food sources for bees, resulting in less than optimal conditions for honey production," the report said.
CYANOTECH DROPPING ANIMAL FEED
Kona-based Cyanotech Corp. said it is quitting the animal feed market so it can focus on its products for humans.
The company said it will discontinue its marketing of its NatuRose product and instead concentrate on producing nutrition and health products made from microalgae.
"Cyanotech's marketing efforts and investment directed toward the human astaxanthin market in recent periods have yielded excellent results," said Gerald R. Cysewiski, Cyanotech chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a press statement.
