Maui Council committee approves kuleana lands tax exemption
Associated Press
WAILUKU, Hawaii — The Maui County Council’s Budget and Finance Committee has voted to exempt owners of so-called “kuleana lands” from property taxes.
The lands have been handed down through the generations since the Kuleana Act of 1850. It allowed commoners in Hawaii to apply for title to land they had lived on and farmed.
Committee Chairman Joe Pontanilla was the only member of the panel to vote against the proposal Monday. He had wanted to allow kuleana land owners to pay the minimum property tax of $150.
Pontanilla pointed out that minimum taxes are assessed on kuleana lands in Hawaii’s three other counties.
But Council member Gladys Baisa said Native Hawaiians shouldn’t be taxed off their properties.
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Information from: The Maui News, www.mauinews.com
