Excise and discretionary taxes in Hawaii complement the General Excise Tax (GET) by targeting specific goods and services:

• Excise Taxes: Applied to alcohol (e.g., spirits at $3.79/gallon), tobacco, and motor fuel (gasoline at $0.48/gallon). These taxes are in addition to GET, increasing the total tax burden on these products.

• Discretionary Taxes: Include Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which fund local projects like education and infrastructure. These discretionary taxes allow counties to impose additional taxes beyond GET to support specific initiatives.

Together, excise and discretionary taxes raise the overall tax burden on certain goods and services, funding public projects and influencing business pricing and compliance.