Airbnb says no to collecting taxes on rentals

Airbnb is pushing back against a measure designed to address the perennially thorny issue of how to regulate and tax people who rent out homes and condominiums through the popular websites.

Senate Bill 2963 is aimed at generating tax revenue for the state, creating tough penalties and enforcement tools that counties can use to shut down illegal rentals, and establishing clear rules for online brokers like Airbnb. The bill also would allow Airbnb to serve as tax collection agent for Hawaiʻi’s Department of Taxation, something Airbnb has said it wants to do.

But, in a strongly worded rebuke to the bill, Airbnb made it clear last week that if the measure passes, the company won’t help collect hotel and excise taxes from properties that use the site.

“If that’s what Airbnb wants to do, that’s their choice,” said Victor Geminiani, co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Foundation for Law & Economic Justice, a nonprofit that works on housing issues. “But it doesn’t mean the counties can be held hostage in terms of their ability to enforce” local zoning laws.