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Business / In Brief • Mar. 21, 2013

HONOLULU - A federal judge in Honolulu has ruled a retired Hawaii car dealer not guilty of tax fraud and lying on his income tax returns.U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi found 87-year-old James Henry Pflueger not guilty on four charges, including underreporting a capital gain on a $27.5 million property sale in San Diego.Pflueger's accountant testified in the case that he, not Pflueger, falsified tax return documents because the car dealer needed money to pay legal expenses for a separate manslaughter case.Pflueger is expected to go on trial on state manslaughter charges after ...

Business / In Brief • Mar. 19, 2013

LIHUE - The Kauai Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 100th anniversary today.The Garden Island said that the chamber began in 1913 with a meeting of 17 people. It now has 450 members.The newspaper says when the chamber was formed, sugar plantations had been around for more than 50 years. The chamber's financial records suggest those plantations provided much of the membership dues in the early days.Chamber President and CEO Randall Francisco said that the chamber's concerns remain much the same today as they have for decades. The list ranges from taxes to health and unemployment ...

The Chamber View: Balancing the debate on a minimum wage increase

Laws to increase Hawaii's minimum wage are moving forward this legislative session despite small businesses, business organizations, and industry groups opposing them. Written from a labor perspective, they are absent business and economic realities. Yet, a version is likely to pass this year.So why not just let it happen? Because we know it will hurt businesses, their employees and the public.Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii writes: "Stop and look at the issue from an economic and financial well-being standpoint instead of the emotional and social welfare perspective." In ...

Business / In Brief • Mar. 15, 2013

Panel advances solar tax credit billHONOLULU - The House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection has moved forward a bill to amend Hawaii's renewable energy tax credits.The committee voted unanimously Thursday to approve the bill, which now goes to the committee on consumer protection.Committee Chairman Chris Lee amended the utility-scale tax credit section of the bill based on public feedback.He didn't specify how much the tax credits would be, saying that's the job of the Committee on Finance.Gov. Neil Abercrombie says existing solar tax credits are costing the state too much ...

Business / In Brief • Mar. 14, 2013

Down to Earth stores to require GMO food labelsDown to Earth Organic & Natural will begin requiring store products with ingredients containing genetically modified organisms to be labeled by 2018.The decision follows a similar announcement by Whole Foods recently."Whole Foods' announcement is a game changer," says Mark Fergusson, Down to Earth chief organic officer. "It marks a big victory in the move towards the labeling of genetically labeled foods. Down to Earth will monitor and review the situation and may move our implementation date earlier if that becomes possible."He said ...

Residents say no to Anahola green energy project

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) - Local residents are pushing back against a renewable energy project planned for Kauai.The Garden Island says residents want to stop the Anahola Renewable Energy Project. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is proposing to lease more than 2,000 acres to Green Energy Team, LLC of Kauai. If approved, the land would be used for clearing trees and replanting and harvesting biomass feedstock, which would be delivered to Green Energy's state-of-the-art facility near Koloa.More than 200 residents attended a meeting Friday and expressed strong opposition to the project.Some ...