Committee recommends partial exemption for late filers; staff to return with constituent cases

Maui County's Special Committee on Real Property Tax Reform on Sept. 17 recommended approval (4-0) of Bill 113, a finance-department measure that establishes a partial exemption pathway for property owners who miss the Jan. 1 filing deadline for the home exemption or the long-term rental exemption.

Director Marcy Martin told the committee the bill creates a safety net for taxpayers who qualify but missed the statutory filing deadline: applicants would receive classification benefits but only a partial exemption and a limited penalty rather than being fully excluded from relief. The department said the long-term rental exemption, in particular, is an annual filing requirement and some applicants who otherwise qualify occasionally miss the deadline.

Tom Crowley, a long-time property tax resource person, urged a broader review of how classification changes are timed and noted the county's existing delay between ownership or use changes and tax classification adjustments can be 6 to 18 months. Crowley said the bill addresses one subset of late-filed cases but does not resolve the underlying timing mismatches between property use changes and tax billing.

After discussing constituent examples and the department's outreach efforts, the committee voted to recommend the bill to the full council and asked staff to invite affected residents to testify at the October meeting to illustrate practical cases the bill would help.

Vote: motion to recommend approval moved by Vice Chair Keanu Rollins Fernandez and seconded by Member Gabe Johnson; recorded tally 4 ayes, 0 noes.