Well done for supporting the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Qa question: If a business doesn’t have a sign, does that mean guns are allowed or not?
Answer: It is not allowed. You’re referring to an Oahu law that went into effect Monday that prohibits the public from carrying guns in sensitive public places, such as schools, hospitals, government buildings, homeless shelters, bars, concert halls and many other places.
Businesses not considered sensitive places under the law that want to allow firearms on the premises must post a sign to that effect, according to the city, which has posted FAQs about the law at oneoahu.org/sensitive-places.
The website says owners of businesses not considered sensitive locations “do not have to take any action unless you want to allow firearms on your property. If you wish to allow firearms on your property, you must post “Guns Allowed” signs, which are provided free of charge by the city. If you want to ban firearms on your property, you don’t need to do anything, but you can put up signs saying firearms are prohibited if you want. Again, business owners are not required to take action unless they want to allow firearms.
That means a business without a sign prohibits guns.
Q: Won’t REAL ID be enforced at airports soon?
A: No. The effective date has been pushed back multiple times and is now May 7, 2025, two decades after Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005.
The federal law established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and, once it takes effect, will prohibit passengers who do not have acceptable identification from boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.
Correction
Employer-funded private pensions are not subject to Hawaii income tax, according to the State Department of Revenue. A personal finance website we cited in Tuesday’s column overstates the tax liability of private pensions. Here is the correct information from DOTAX:
“Hawaii does not tax qualified distributions from an employer-sponsored retirement plan, or from a state retirement system (for example, federal civil service, military pension, state or county retirement system), or from a private employer retirement plan, received upon retirement if an employee did not contribute to the pension plan. For a payment to be an exempt pension, the payment must be made on account of the employee’s retirement, disability or death and must be funded by the employer. Hawaii does not apply a 10% penalty on early distributions – federal taxation does.”
For details, see the 2022 N-11 Income Tax Instructions for Hawaii Residents at files.hawaii.gov/tax/forms/2022/n11ins.pdf. The instructions for the N-11, line 13 (on page 13) explain that “distributions from a private employer retirement plan received upon retirement are subject to partial Hawaii tax if the employee contributed to the retirement plan.”
Eha
The sidewalks, streets, and freeway entrances and exits are so overgrown it’s ridiculous. The city and state always blame the rain, but better planning and higher standards would make a difference. Oahu should look better! — Reader
thank you
I like going to the Kahala Post Office. They are very efficient and kind. On Friday I casually dropped my Japanese wallet with money for my weekly marketing. A very honest and thoughtful woman found it and handed it over. The postman realized it belonged to me and went out with the woman. I was in the car looking for my money. I was grateful to both of them and wish them all the best! — A grateful 90-year-old
Write to the Kokua Line at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email [email protected].