Faced with budget shortfalls for the state of Hawaii, the office of Governor Neil Abercrombie has stated that they have not ruled out increasing taxes or adding other revenue generating measures to help make ends meet. The state Council of Revenues announced last week that Hawaii will have a projected 11.5 percent revenue growth in the coming fiscal year, which was a decrease from the 14.5 percent predicted previously. This 3 percent difference would mean a decrease in revenue of approximately $130 million for this fiscal year and $138 million for the next fiscal year. State representative Barbara Marumoto commented that the state should first look at reducing their spending. Marumoto stated, "We really should be mending our ways and reducing spending this year, otherwise we will be facing very large tax increases in the future."
