San Francisco will bring in about $120,000 this year from its controversial “furniture tax,”
which requires hosts on Airbnb and other vacation-rental sites to tally the contents of their homes so the city can levy a tax on everything from sheets to sofas to silverware. The average business personal property tax bill came to $60, said San Francisco
Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, who sent notices in late March to 2,048 vacation-rental hosts giving them until May 7 to submit an itemized list of all the “furnishings, appliances, supplies, equipment and fixtures” used in their rentals. “State law is clear
that if you have a rental operating to generate revenue, it is considered a business, and business personal property is taxable,” she said….

BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is backing a plan to require online lodging services such as Airbnb to pay the same taxes as hotels and motels. The proposal was included in the Massachusetts Senate version of an economic development bill. The Massachusetts House has yet to approve the measure. Baker said during his monthly “Ask the Governor” segment on WGBH-FM that applying the hotel tax to Airbnb and other online lodging services is needed to create a level playing field. The plan, if approved, could bring in an additional $20 million annually for the state. The Senate bill would require San Francisco-based Airbnb and similar online services begin collecting the state’s 5.7 percent room occupancy tax along with any additional room taxes charged by local communities.

Officials from the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police as well as the State Tax Department visited 40 – 50 Airbnb apartments
and guesthouses last night in central Reykjavik following tip-offs that the owners did not have permits to rent them out. According to Sigurbjörn Jónsson at the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police, 80 percent of the places visited did not have the necessary permits.
On top of work permits, guesthouses need permits from the health and fire departments. All the owners in question were given a limited amount of time to sort out their permits. New laws on Airbnb rentals in Iceland start on January 1st 2017, in which people
are limited to renting out their homes for 90 days at a time.

In Miami Beach, regulatory issues have caused safety, cleanliness and zoning concerns from residents who have complained that neighbors rent out their properties despite living in areas where short-term rentals are prohibited. Miami Beach bans the practice in all single-family homes and allows it in multi-family buildings only in specified areas. Fort Lauderdale limits the number of guests. Key West recently cracked down on home-sharing, requiring licenses for rentals lasting less than 30 days. Andrea Levinson, who sits on the board of directors of the Bridgewater Tower condominium in North Bay Village, said illegal Airbnb rentals have created a “nightmarish” situation for legal unit owners and renters….

Ever since Airbnb entered the lodging scene in 2008, the hotel industry has cast a wary eye, noting its popularity with young travelers. Despite a strong year for hotels — occupancy and rates broke records in 2015, according to the data firm STR — anxiety may be creeping into those corporate suites. Airbnb, the largest home sharing network with over two million listings worldwide, is newly targeting business travelers, the bread-and-butter clientele of hotels. Phocuswright, the travel research firm, noted that one in three leisure travelers in 2015 used private accommodations, up from one in 10 in 2011, and that 31 percent of travelers who used Airbnb in the last two years had used it for business….

I am the team manager for my son’s under-14 football team. After our most recent victory in the pouring rain, after the song had been sung and the awards handed out, I was cleaning up in the changing room. I am the last to leave most games but this time another parent was hanging around and when everyone else had gone and we were alone he said “Marcus, I have been offered shares in Airbnb; should I buy them?” Really? They are handing out Airbnb shares pre-IPO? I asked him if he used a broker, he didn’t have one. I asked him if he regularly traded shares. No. I asked him if he had connections with Airbnb. No. I asked if he had any investment experience beyond superannuation. No. How did they contact you? Emailed and contacted by phone three times. “They are relentless,” he said. Did you fill in something online? Yes. American or Australian? “Australian I think, but may have been English”. What was the name of the broker. I’d never heard of it (name withheld lest I get sued – but it wasn’t Stratton Oakmont)….

Airbnb has made a deal with Los Angeles city officials to soon begin collecting lodging taxes from rentals. Residents who rent out their homes for short stays were already supposed to pay lodging taxes as hotels do, but tax officials have had difficulties tracking down hosts to collect payment. Under its agreement with the city, which takes effect in August, Airbnb, a website that helps people rent out their homes to tourists, will help in the process by collecting taxes from its hosts and handing the fees over to the city….

An email was sent to all Los Angeles Airbnb hosts Monday informing them about the change. The email states: “For reservations booked in the City of Los Angeles on or after August 1, 2016, guests will see a charge for the occupancy tax. The tax will be listed separately and added to the total amount paid by guests on applicable stays—hosts will not have to do anything extra.” The agreement with the city comes as the Los Angeles City Council considers regulating Airbnb sites. Critics charge the home-sharing company is depleting the rental market and changing the character of some neighborhoods by driving out renters and bringing in tourists….

Under a newly announced deal with Los Angeles city officials, Airbnb will soon start collecting lodging taxes from rental hosts, providing millions of dollars in revenue to the city annually. Angelenos who rent out rooms or whole homes for short stays are already supposed to pay the same kind of lodging taxes as hotels, but L.A. tax officials have struggled to track down hosts and make sure they pay. Now Airbnb, one of many websites that help people rent out their homes to travelers, will facilitate that process by collecting the taxes and handing them over to the city of Los Angeles. The deal, which was worked out with city budget and tax officials, would go into effect in August. Los Angeles had been banking on more than $5 million in tax revenue from such rentals for the budget year that began in July — money that would help pay for homeless programs….

As it has in cities that include San Francisco; Portland, Oregon, and Newark, New Jersey, Airbnb has signed an agreement with city officials in Los Angeles to collect and remit lodging taxes on behalf of its hosts. As we’ve noted before, these city tax agreements are at the core of Airbnb’s strategy for legalization in various jurisdictions around the world. The move by Los Angeles city officials to agree to a voluntary collection agreement with Airbnb comes at a time when the city is currently considering new legislation to regulate the types of short-term rentals offered by platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and FlipKey….