HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Supreme Court is considering whether voters can control how much tax they pay.

Kauai County said that allowing voters a say in taxes would lead to chaos.

In 2004, two-thirds of Kauai voters approved capping and rolling back property taxes, but the rollback was stopped in court.

"The people have spoken. They want property tax relief, and they should get property tax relief," Kauai homeowner Monroe Richman said.

Richman was one of four Kauai homeowners asking the state Supreme Court to uphold the tax rollback. On the other side, the Kauai County Council said voters should not control taxes.

"You can do a charter amendment and say, 'We don't want to pay any taxes.' Everybody is going to vote on that if you put it in a charter amendment. So, we pay no taxes?" Kauai Councilman Kaipo Asing said.

The homeowners' attorney told the court that the county's lawsuit against the rollback had legal and technical flaws. The county begged the court to clearly declare constitutionally that taxes are off-limits to voters.

"The uncertainty that exists is harmful to the county. The sooner this matter is decided, the better," Kauai County attorney Gary Slovin said.

The arguments have statewide importance. If the Kauai homeowners win, there are groups on other islands ready to do the same thing

"If the County Council decides not to do anything by ordinance, then we will take exactly the same avenue that (Kauai residents) did," Maui homeowner Tony Fisher said.

The court usually takes several months to announce its rulings.