Airbnb does pay taxes
In response to Ms. Tagon’s letter, I am an Airbnb host and along with most of the other hosts that I know, I do pay the Hawaii GET and TAT.
For the past two years, Airbnb, along with support from its network of hosts, attempted to get legislation passed so that they could collect and pay the taxes on behalf of their hosts, thus roping in those mavericks who are not currently paying, and adding substantial additional revenue to the state.
Although the Legislature passed the bill in this year’s session, Gov. David Ige chose to veto the bill. I was in favor of the legislation for several reasons: 1. It saves me the hassle of filling out the tax forms and dealing with the state bureaucracy; 2. It puts us all on the same level playing field (my rates might be higher than another host because I am adding in the tax); and 3. It’s the right thing to do.
Being an Airbnb host has been a great, rewarding experience. We have met people from all over the world and I feel we have provided them with a home experience that they will remember. There will always be those who prefer to stay in the hotels and luxury resorts — obviously they are not the ones who book B&Bs. We are obviously filling a need because my B&B is almost always occupied and I haven’t heard that hotel occupancy rates have decreased significantly.
Nancy Bloomfield
Kailua-Kona