Trending
As part of our retina specialty practice based in Salt Lake City, we participate in humanitarian projects serving the island nations of Tonga and Samoa. Through our numerous trips over the years, we developed a sincere love and gratitude for the Polynesian people. We enjoy the islands so much that we decided to purchase a condo on Maui. We chose Maui because it is far easier for us to own property in the United States than Samoa or Tonga. Despite the incredible beauty, there is a lack of tourism in Tonga and Samoa, so they depend nearly entirely on foreign aid. As a result, the local economies suffer.
Our condo serves as a current stopover to Samoa and a possible future part-time residence for us. We purchased it with the idea of the condo being a short-term rental to offset the mortgage, property taxes and HOA fees. At the time, the numbers made sense, so we moved forward with the purchase. Property taxes were raised since the purchase and now will be raised again.
To offset the revenue needed to run government services and infrastructure, I suggest lowering the property taxes and replace that revenue with a tourist fee or port-of-entry fee. Charge a $10 fee for each person entering the state or county. Those with a Hawaiian ID would be charged a reduced fee or no fee at all on entry.
As a tourist, I would gladly pay the fee knowing it was going to improve the roads, parks, access, and the overall aloha experience.
Douglas Mehr, M.D.
South Jordan, Utah