Bahamas hopes to seal VAT deal with Airbnb
The Bahamas tourism minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said the government is hopeful about agreeing a deal for Airbnb to remit value-added tax revenues on its behalf.
As a consumer tax it would not impact local Airbnb hosts, D’Aguilar said.
"This is what every other jurisdiction is doing and the government should seek to collect this revenue in order to maintain the tourist product that those people that have their homes on Airbnb are selling," he told Guardian Business.
"I don’t think anybody should in any way be worried about it because this is the trend."
"We will probably move to strike a similar agreement that the US Virgin Islands struck with Airbnb – that they collect taxes on their behalf if you want to rent your house in the Bahamas. For people who come to our shores, there should be an inherent desire to contribute to the upkeep of the country."
The US Virgin Islands struck a deal with Airbnb which will pay 12.5% room occupancy tax.
D’Aguilar added that in the future the government would look to regulate the home sharing market.
"To a certain degree, as this market proliferates there is a desire to license and regulate. If you are going to be in this market and offer a product and offer a business, you are subject to some type of regulation."
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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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