From the Wall Street Journal: “Despite being consistently rated as the “happiest state” in the nation, Hawaii is experiencing its third straight year of negative migration. Some 35,000 residents moved to the mainland from 2015-18.”
“At 11% the state’s top marginal income-tax rate is second only to California’s. A 2018 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined that the state’s general excise tax—a sales tax substitute—raises the effective tax rate on low-income households to about 15%. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Hawaii has the nation’s heaviest sales-tax burden as a share of personal income.”
“[I]t takes three to five years to get permission to build a home in Hawaii—and that’s when things are “fast tracked.” At normal speed, according to University of Hawaii law professor David Callies, it can take a decade to get a house built.”
