Airbnb to charge tax on San Francisco rentals
As the traditional hotel industry ups the pressure for more regulation in the sharing rental market, Airbnb has agreed to collect and remit taxes directly on behalf of hosts in its home base of San Francisco.
This follows a similar decision last week to begin collecting $21 million in taxes in New York City.
Writing in a blog post on the company’s website, David Hantman, Airbnb’s Head of Global Public Policy said Airbnb will launch the tax collection program later this summer.
Taxes would be calculated based on the cost of accommodation and automatically deducted during the booking process.
The company says it does not agree that Airbnb hosts should be defined as hotels for tax purposes, but will still adhere to local tax rules.
In San Francisco, current occupancy tax for hotels is 14%.
"Our hosts are not hotels, and most of these tax laws were not designed for them, but whether or not we agree with the tax laws, we want to help our hosts follow the rules," Hantman wrote.
He also called some of the tax rules "arcane and difficult to follow."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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