Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are among the most powerful players in Hawaii’s real estate market. These for-profit corporations own vast amounts of property across the islands, including hotels, office buildings, shopping centers and other commercial real estate. Yet despite doing busin ess here and profiting heavily from Hawaii’s land and economy, REITs do not pay Hawaii’s corporate income tax. A loophole allows them to avoid this tax, which nearly every other for-profit corporation operating in the state must pay. ...read more read less