I can deduct state sales tax paid. Do I use the pass-on rate of 4.712%? That is the tax rate used on my receipts.
Background: Hawaii does not have a sales tax; instead, we have the General Excise Tax, 4%, which is assessed on all business activities. City and County of Honolulu assesses a 0.5% county surcharge on state GET so it's 4.5%. Then there's this thing called a pass-on rate. From the tax.hawaii.gov website: "Yes, a seller may choose to visibly pass on the GE and any applicable county surcharge to its customers, but is not required to do so. The tax is on the business and not on the customer. If the business passes on its GE tax, the maximum pass-on rates, which include the county surcharge if applicable, are as follows:
- City and County of Honolulu: 4.7120%"
