A federal appeals court has temporarily suspended a new law that planned to impose a tourism tax on Hawaii, while protecting the islands’ climate and natural resources as a priority.
A federal appeals court temporarily prevented authorities in Hawaii from collecting tourist tax from cruise ship passengers, although the relevant law came into effect on January 1, 2026. TASR writes about it according to the Euronews.com website.
- A federal appeals court has suspended Hawaii’s tourism tax.
- The goal of the law is to obtain funding for climate projects.
Under the new legislation, cruise ship passengers were to be charged an 11 percent tax based on the number of days they spent in Hawaiian ports at the state level. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) considers this unconstitutional.
Temporary suspension of the law
“We remain confident that Act 96 is lawful and will be upheld when the appeal is heard on the merits,” Hawaii Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said in an email to the AP.
Federal Judge Jill A. Otake last week denied a request to block problematic parts of the maritime law. Both CLIA and the federal government therefore appealed, and the appeals court suspended part of the law pending the hearing of the appeal.
The goal is climate protection
The so-called The climate bill was drafted last year by Hawaii’s Democratic governor, Josh Green, to use increased tax revenue to address climate change issues. The short stay tax (TAT) has been increased by 0.75 percent for hotels and short-term rentals, including berths. A so-called “climate fee” of 25 dollars (approximately 23 euros) is also being introduced.
It is supposed to bring almost 100 million dollars (about 85 million euros) to the Hawaiian budget annually and facilitate the financing of projects such as replenishing sand on eroding beaches or removing flammable invasive grasses. Their expansion worsened the consequences of the devastating fires in August 2023, in which, for example, the city of Lahaine burned down.
Tourism and the environment
Environmental protection on the Hawaiian Islands is currently financed by the taxes of 1.4 million local residents, and now the approximately ten million visitors who visit the archipelago every year should participate in it to an increased extent.
It is estimated that tourism brings about 16 billion dollars (14.8 billion euros) to Hawaii annually, but it also damages the nature and burdens the infrastructure on the islands.
