HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers have made changes to a controversial bill aimed at simplifying tax collections for vacation rentals to prevent the operations from being run illegally.
The legislation as it stands would let online lodging service Airbnb and similar companies collect general excise and transient accommodation taxes on behalf of hosts and pay the money to the state, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported (http://bit.ly/1RkjVlj).
Sen. Rosalyn Baker, chairwoman of the Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee, said the amendments require Airbnb to notify hosts who want to use its service that they must comply with local ordinances.
“It’s an attempt to make sure in no way that people who are using the platform are able to evade local laws,” she said. “It’s meant to be a bit of a deterrent. If you know that you have to make the statement, you better be able to back it up or you could get dumped off the site.”
Opponents of the bill have argued that it would make it harder to identify hosts that are violating zoning laws. The Institute for Human Services, the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice and other groups have asked the state Department of Taxation to withdraw its support of the bill and petitioned Gov. David Ige to veto the legislation if it gets passed.
Baker said the amendments were meant to address some of the concerns brought by the bill’s opponents.
Kathleen Pahinui of Save North Shore Neighborhoods has been a critic of illegal vacation rentals, which she says have increased home prices and rents and contributed to homelessness. She said the amendments are an improvement, but that more work still needs to be done.
“It really now puts companies like Airbnb in the position of having to make sure that people are in compliance,” said Pahinui. “There are still loopholes that they need to close, but it’s easier to fix something that’s moving in the right direction.”
Cyn Wang, Airbnb public policy manager, said the company is committed to working with legislators to ensure hosts pay their taxes, which totals an estimated $15 million each year in Hawaii.
“We’ve listened carefully to feedback from the community throughout the legislative process, and we’re open to the proposed amendment because it seems to respond directly to an area of concern,” she said.