Advantage Vacation would like to urge all timeshare owners who are currently on Maui to attend the County Council meeting to be held on Friday, April 20 at 9am at the Maui County Council Building located at 200 S. High Street, Room 708, Wailuku, HI 96793. The phone number is (808) 270-7748.
All timeshare owners currently on Maui are urged to attend this Council Meeting and let their voices be heard regarding the proposed tax increase. Representatives from ARDA-ROC will be addressing the council meeting as well as representatives from many of the major timeshare developers in Hawaii and Syed Sarmad, owner of Advantage Vacation.
The Maui County Mayor, Alan Arakawa has presented his fiscal year budget proposal to increase the property tax rate paid by timeshare owners for the second year in a row.
The proposal represents a 7.7% increase to the timeshare tax rate on top of the 8% increase of last year which means timeshare owners would see a 15% increase in their property tax rate over the past two years. This proposed increase would bring the overall rate from the current $15.00 per thousand to $16.15 per thousand. While the Mayor’s office insists the tax increase will be “revenue neutral”, this continues the practice of taxing timeshare owners at a significantly higher tax rate than any other type of landowner. And these proposed increases come without any rational explanation or justification from the Maui County Council.
Syed Sarmad, broker/owner of Advantage Vacation attended the Council Meeting on April 11 and will be attending the meeting on April 20 as well, to represent the many timeshare owners on Maui and to report his observations to the Timeshare User’s Group (TUG) members.
Some of the comments from TUG members the last several days have been as follows:
“I feel Maui’s government is sending a loud message to those who own timeshare.”
“We own three annual Maui weeks and only use the kitchen for breakfast. We eat out every meal, go on excursions, go to luaus and shows. The mayor said something to the effect that timeshare owners are not the visitors he wants on Maui.”
“Starwood, and others, were successful in lowering the tax bill by establishing that assessed values were overstated. Nonetheless, the tax rate was increased last year to 15%. Everyone was ecstatic because it was not raised to 17%. ARDA ROC and the resorts were snapping their suspenders. So, now Maui County is taking all that money back in the form of a yet higher tax rate.”
“Seriously! A 2 bedroom condo with an annual tax bill over $30,000? That it serves to further lower the subsidized property tax of resident owners only adds insult to injury.”
“I have said it before. Unless the basis for the tax rate is legally challenged, timeshare owners will continue to be Maui’s piggy bank. The rest is Kabuki Theater. eta: Thank you, Syed, for your efforts.”
Syed responded with “Many thanks for your kind words. I appreciate it. I think the timeshare community in Maui needs to meet with County Council members more than once a year, during budget time, to communicate and eliminate any misunderstandings they have about timeshare owners. I will try to meet with the Council members and I will keep you informed.”
Advantage Vacation is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and offers the best buys on the timeshare re sales market today. We never charge an upfront fee for clients who want to sell a timeshare and only receive a commission, paid from escrow, when the transaction is closed.
We are leaders in the timeshare resale secondary market, have been in the timeshare industry for over 30 years and are Accredited Members of the BBB with an A+ Rating.
Advantage Vacation is using Twitter and Facebook to help educate people on the changes in the timeshare industry along with current timeshare tips, up to date timeshare news and timeshare FAQ’s.
We hope you will follow us and our blog, Timeshare Blogging by Advantage Vacation for the latest news and reviews. If our site does not answer your question or questions, please email us your question and we will answer it and add it to our library. Make your voice heard – what questions do you have?
At Advantage Vacation you can be assured you are working with professionals who believe that honesty and integrity are the most important aspects of the business they are in – timeshare re sales. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
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