Hawaii Governor Enacts 13% Tax Bracket on Million-Dollar Earners

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) signed a tax package (SB 3125) creating a new 13% income tax bracket for people making more than $1 million annually while preserving planned tax cuts for lower earners.

The package, passed this month by the Democrat-controlled legislature after months of debate, maintains the income tax cuts passed in 2024 for joint filers earning up to $350,000 annually and single filers earning up to $175,000. The measure also sunsets tax credits for business investment and renewable energy companies.

• Green called in January for a “strategic pause” on all planned personal income tax cuts to fund essential state services such as food security and childcare. The state is facing reduced revenues of nearly $3 billion amid declining federal support for SNAP and Medicaid benefits, he said.
• The measure enacted Thursday “preserves meaningful tax relief for working families while ensuring we have the resources to protect essential services that our residents depend on every day,” the governor said in a statement after signing the bill.
• Green added he’s working on additional investments to support renewable energy in the “very near future.”