Honolulu rail project $8 million short in Q4 tax revenue

For the final quarter of fiscal-year 2015, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) received $8 million less than expected.

The agency obtained $52.3 million in general excise and use tax (GET) revenue for the final fiscal quarter, which covers the months of April, May and June. The amount fell short of forecasted quarterly revenue based on the project's current financial plan, HART officials said in a statement.

In total, the agency now has collected $1.52 billion in surcharge revenue for the project, said HART Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Dan Grabauskas.

HART's overall surcharge revenue is currently about 1.18 percent below projections, which amounts to nearly $39 million less than expected, according to Grabauskas.

Revenue from the half-percent GET surcharge is expected to cover more than 70 percent of the project's costs, which will be greater than $5.2 billion, according to HART's website. Federal funds will cover the remaining balance.

Last month, Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed a law extending the GET surcharge until 2027. It was originally slated to expire in 2022.