Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Should Hotel Taxes Cover Short-Term Rentals Through Services Like Airbnb?

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy.

Should Hotel Taxes Cover Short-Term Rentals Through Services Like Airbnb? A new factsheet from MassBudget examines how several states across the country have changed their rules to extend room-occupancy taxes levied at hotels to include short-term rentals made through Airbnb and similar companies. Airbnb and Taxes: What Other States are Doing and How Much Revenue Might Be Raised in Massachusetts examines how 11 other states apply short-term rental taxes to bookings made through platforms like Airbnb. The factsheet explains the current exemption for short-term residential rentals and how taxing these bookings would work. It explains recent research on how rentals booked through companies such as Airbnb can compete with traditional short-term accommodations like hotels. It also presents data on people and businesses renting out through Airbnb full-time and with multiple units. It examines how much revenue the room occupancy tax currently generates and Massachusetts Department of Revenue estimates of the additional revenue that would be raised with new rules extending the tax to short-term residential rentals. You can read the new fact sheet (HERE).

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTO