▪ More Commentaries on Kauai Property Tax Decision

LegalNewsline posts "Paradise doesn't include setting own tax rates, Hawaii SC rules."

"Because [it] usurps the county government's/county council's 'functions, powers and duties relating to the taxation of real property,' we hold that the Charter Amendment is unconstitutional," wrote Chief Justice Ronald Moon, with Justices Steven Levinson and Paula Nakayama.

But dissenting Justice Simeon Acoba, joined by Justice James Duffy accused the minority of "manipulating the lawsuit so as to create a controversy that did not in fact exist."

"The only way the merits in this case are reached by the majority is through the manipulation of the parties and the lawsuit -- a course that, in my view, fosters unwise and dangerous precedent," Acoba wrote.

Ohana Kauai (OK), the group that brought the original charter, charged the County with pulling legal fast ones to bring the case to the Supreme Court, the Honolulu Advertiser reported. 

"Kauai officials sued each other to invalidate [the charter], with the county attorney representing both sides of the case," OK attorney Robert H. Thomas of Pacific Legal Foundation told the Advertiser. "We're disappointed the court allowed this fabricated lawsuit to go forward."

The Hawaii Reporter went further, slamming the opinion as "anti-democratic" in a column last week. "The Court decided that the voters are not the proper or appropriate authority to make that decision," the author wrote.

Smittie's Ramblings posts "Kauai Property Tax Revolt: Government Sues Itself and Wins" and includes some personal observations, and

A friend of mine who lives on the mainland says, "there's no sense living in paradise when you have to work like hell." Recent increases in property values and the associated increase in property taxes have only served to make this worse. What is interesting to me is that the state and county governments of Hawaii do not seem motivated to do anything significant to help the state's residents.

. . . .

The suit was essentially filed by the county of Kauai, against the county of Kauai. So, the county sued itself and won. Image that! Kauai is not the only place where voters are fighting back against local government attempts to cash in on the recent raise in property values. This article recounts similar actions across the country.

The Poinography blog posts "Kauai wins, natch!," which contains links to many of the media reports on the case, and concludes:

Predictably, much ado is made, especially in the dissent, about the County playing both sides of the case and the resulting lack of “actual controversy.” Not a proud moment for the Court, even though this decision comes as no surprise.

Mel's Internet Universe Weblog posts "People Lose on Kauai Tax Cap Issue," which includes links to other reports:

So what happened is this. Back in 2004 the people on Kauai overwhelmingly voted to support a property tax cap. Nearly 3 years later the Surpreme Court turns over a decision made by the people. This is sad, so very sad. When are we going to be able to stop government from running over us when a branch of that same government now says "your vote doesn't count."