Tips are welcome. But tips always have to be checked out. This is an example of why that’s necessary,

A reader submitted a comment earlier this week questioning how James Hall, who holds title to the property at 91 Coelho Way, was allowed to benefit from a city tax credit, reducing the tax he had to pay on the home valued at over $4 million, to just $300 per year.

…there is a tax fraud being committed here! Why is no one in the City following and doing anything about this?

The tax credits were received for 2021 and 2022, over $20,000!

Hall is claiming low income while renting AirBnb, though short term rentals are illegal at this location, owning another property at Skyline which he is renting AirBnb and while receiving PPP Loans in the amount of $49,000 claiming to run a hotel/BnB.

I have discussed the $215,000 in PPP loans Hall received in a prior post, but the tax credits were new to me.

There are two types of tax credits available to Honolulu property owners that could cover all but $300 of property tax otherwise owed.

The first applies to historic properties.

Which properties qualify for the real property tax exemption?

Historic residential properties that are one or two-family detached dwellings or duplex units, including associated structures (carriage houses, ‘ohana units, outbuildings), and that are designated on the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places are eligible to apply for the exemption.

Since the Coelho Way home doesn’t appear on the Register of Historic Places, it couldn’t qualify for this exemption.

A second exemption applies to low income homeowners.

The City and County of Honolulu offers a real property tax credit to property owners who meet certain eligibility requirements. If you qualify, you are entitled to a tax credit equal to the amount of taxes owed for the 2022 – 2023 tax year that exceed 3% of the titleholders’ combined total gross income.

Honolulu real property tax records confirm that the home did receive tax credits.

Below is data for 2021 and 2022 reported on the city’s real property tax website.

For the 2021 tax year, it clearly shows two payments of $150 each were made, while the balance owed was covered by tax credits.

For the 2022 tax year, it appears to have been similar until an “adjustment” of $22,574.20 was made. That amount is the exact total of the previous tax credit applied to the two years.

So it appears city tax officials did follow up and rescind the previous tax credits.

The account is now listed as owing a balance of $22,574.20.

Just click on the data below to view a larger version.

As to the PPP laons, here’s an excerpt of a prior post in October 2021.

…Hall applied for and received received four federal Payroll Protection Program loans during 2020 and 2021 that totaled over $215,000, including two that classed his businesses as operating a hotel or motel.

In each year, separate loans went to Greentree Properties LLC, the Nevada company owned by Hall since 2018, and to a sole proprietorship also owned by Hall, PPP loan records show.

All four loans were made by First National Bank Texas. These were the only PPP loans made by the bank in Hawaii.

Greentree received a PPP loan of $96,656 in 2021. Greentree’s loan application was approved on April 9, just two days before Myeni’s shooting. Despite applying for and receiving the PPP loan, based on a prior year’s payroll, Greentree Properties is not listed among companies registered to do business in Hawaii, state business registration records show.

Hall’s sole proprietorship received $29,165 in 2021, according to the PPP lookup at the website, FederalPay.org. Both company’s applications reported they were in an industry category for “Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels.”

Given Hall’s own history, and the history of the property, it seems questionable whether his hotel-related businesses actually produced enough income to qualify for the PPP loans. But it’s hard to say from the outside. So I’ll leave that as a gray area for now.