ECONOMY MAKES IT THE WRONG TIME FOR TAX HIKES

I join Hawai'i's growing chorus of residents urging lawmakers to stop the squeeze. With business in such a fragile state, now is not the time to load on a general excise tax increase. As a business owner, I'm still feeling that "small" GET increase to fund the rail project. That translates into fewer people I can hire, less goods and services I buy in this community, and a reduction of charitable contributions.

While the majority of the government leaders I've met seem to be dedicated, intelligent people, their decisions often defy logic. Why raise the transient accommodations tax precisely when tourism is tanking? Why increase property taxes when unemployment is almost 7 percent? Why kill the momentum in Hawai'i's high technology industries?

It's embarrassing that CNBC recently ranked Hawai'i 49 out of the 50 states in two categories — business and cost of living. Companies like Amazon, Overstock.com and Blue Nile jumped ship on Hawai'i when a GE tax was proposed for online sales.

After 17 years in Hawai'i, I believe the price of paradise is worth every penny, but the path we're on now is just not sustainable. Please, lawmakers, think about what you're doing. Now is not the time for tax increases of any kind. Period.

Julie Ford of Honolulu is president of Schweitzer Consulting, a public relations and marketing firm.