Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway have gone untaxed in Arizona’s second largest city. A mayoral task force is looking to change that.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothchild has put together a team of lodging and city representatives to recommend new requirements for individuals operating rental spaces through the popular websites. The Arizona Daily Star reports the mayor is focused on two recommendations: collecting taxes and requiring a business license.
City code states rental spaces accommodating five or fewer people are not subject to taxation, which the task force is considering eliminating.
Task force members, which include representatives of Airbnb, estimate between $500,000 to $2 million have been lost in potential tax revenue. Their hope is to apply equal taxation to short-term rentals that local hotels and bed and breakfasts are subject to.
