The city/state government want their rooms & meals tax.
I think many AirBnB properties do not pay tax on their rental income. Therefore, it is cutting into the governments piece of the action. This is why.
AirBnB files 1099 forms with the Feds, so you’d better at least declare the income on your US income tax. Not sure how well compliance would go with the ‘extort the non-voters’ taxes.
Yes, I agree.
AirBnb is big business and they do control a lot of rentals all over the world. They run into this kind of trouble often and have a large staff to handle the various regulations that they need relief with. They also try to influence political propositions that are proposed to ban their type of business.
AirBnb does pay tax and comply with regulations in cities where they demand this. I suppose eventually that will be all cities. Their biggest problems are in San Francisco which is their world headquarters.
They act like a hotel with differences. They try to present themselves as local experts and provide a visitor with more than the usual hotel experience. Also they are usually not located where hotels generally are. Finally, they will rent to groups and allow them all to use the same residence if it is large enough. They are often more convenient and can be booked quickly (most of the time) and this can save a vacation when hotels are booked up.
I do live in a condo in a Golf and Country Club and yes, they will not let AirBnb in. They do let people rent some residents as long as the tenant meets the age restrictions and agrees to follow their many rules. (Need to have one tenant be over 55 years old)
Oh, my source is a family member who was an AirBnb employee once upon a time.