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Most are probably aware that Ige vetoed Airbnb's tax collection bill. Ige, in my opinion, definitely made the right call on this one. I believe we are the only state that declined Airbnb's proposal.
Here are some snippets from today's SA article -
Gov. David Ige has vetoed a bill that would allow short-term accommodations brokers, such as Airbnb, to act as tax collection agents for the state, along with six other measures that he found problematic for various reasons.
House Bill 1850, which became known as the “Airbnb bill” because of the company’s heavy lobbying efforts to get it passed, would have potentially helped the state collect millions in unpaid transient accommodations taxes. Officials with the Hawaii Department of Taxation supported the bill.
However, opponents of the measure argued that the bill would undermine efforts to crack down on Hawaii’s pervasive illegal vacation rentals.
“When you look at this bill from purely the state’s perspective and the state’s desire to collect the state taxes owed, this measure would provide a mechanism to allow us to achieve this goal,” Ige said during a Tuesday press conference called to discuss his vetoes. “However, the use of an intermediary as a tax accommodations broker also provided a shield for owners who choose not to comply with county laws, and this was a big concern of mine.”
Ige said that the bill would have encouraged the illegal vacation rental market “at a time when affordable rental housing is in such short supply in our communities and homelessness remains to be a critical concern statewide.”
Airbnb has executed similar tax agreements with other states in recent weeks, including South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Connecticut.
The company launched a social media campaign in recent weeks to pressure the governor not to veto to the bill.
“Hawaii legislators, business leaders, tourism officials and even Gov. Ige’s own tax department worked hard to craft this sensible measure that would increase transparency and allowed the state to receive tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue,” Alison Schumer, manager of public affairs for Airbnb, said in a statement following the veto. “We are deeply disappointed that Hawaii did not embrace streamlining tax collection for today’s economy, unlike the other 190 jurisdictions where we collect and remit on behalf of our community.”
I am wondering how vetoing this bill would have any positive affect on the homeless population. Ige said that the bill would have encouraged the illegal vacation rental market “at a time when affordable rental housing is in such short supply in our communities and homelessness remains to be a critical concern statewide.” Most of the listings on abnb are one or two bedroom spaces within an owner occupied home. If these homes are located in desirable locations such as, Kailua, N Shore, then fair market rates for these types rentals would be in the $2000 to 3000 range per month. Are the homeless individuals or families expected to occupy these units? What happens when it is time to fill out a rental application? Will these prospective tenants be able to show sufficient income, pass background checks and supply references? What percentage would qualify? How many of the abnb hosts would choose not to rent at all if it was long term? I keep hearing about the negative impact from short term rentals but I just don't see the connection.
Most of the listings on abnb are one or two bedroom spaces within an owner occupied home.
Most of the listings in Kailua are entire homes. Just go on the site.
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