Tom Yamachika: No. 1 in the world — in tourist taxes

Last month, the website money.co.uk published an article giving our Honolulu a claim to international fame (or infamy). It listed the city as having the highest tourist tax of any city in the world. It noted our 10.25% transient accommodations tax, to which is added 3% county TAT. “That’s already a hefty tax anywhere in the world,” the article says, “but when consider that the average room in Honolulu costs £321 ($390), that equates to £42.53 ($51.70) a night.”