Airbnb collects USD2 billion in taxes

Friday, 13 Dec, 2019 0

Airbnb said it will have remitted a total of $2 billion in tourist and occupancy taxes by the end of this year.

In a move to try to convince hotel industry opponents it is playing by the rules, the company says it has settled the ‘majority’ of legal issues over taxes in US cities.

These include San Francisco, Boston and Miami Beach.

It signed its first tax agreement with the city of Portland, Oregon four years ago.

While some high-profile legal challenges remain, Airbnb says 72% of US bookings now incorporate the collection and tourism or hotel taxes.

It now has more than 400 agreements with local, state, territorial and national governments.

The heightened regulatory environment has seen cities remove thousands of listings which has no doubt impacted revenues.

However it said certainty over taxes will benefit the company and could help placate investors ahead of a planned IPO.

Airbnb says that once regulatory issues are settled, many markets continue to grow even with hosts under extra scrutiny from cities.

When new rules were implemented in San Francisco in 2018, about 5,000 listings were removed.

A year later the number of hosts has grown by 22%.

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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