City Council talks taxing Airbnb rentals

It hasn’t stopped anyone from using the site, but renting out your home via Airbnb is technically illegal in Philadelphia.
Now, City Council is considering changing that — by introducing a handful of regulations and taxing the practice.
A City Council committee held a hearing Monday, with testimonies from the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, local Airbnb hosts and Airbnb itself, CBS Philly reported.

“It seems reasonable to at least mandate the hotel tax for Airbnb-operated rooms,” [Ed Grose, of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association,] said. “Otherwise they are being granted an enormous operating advantage: no taxes and no regulation, while directly competing with one of the most heavily taxed and regulated industries in our city.”

The bill, introduced by Councilman Bill Greenlee, proposes that anyone who rents their home out for more than 90 days a year must apply for a permit. It also proposes that no one can rent their home out for more than 180 days a year.
According to the CBS report, Airbnb public policy director Max Pomernac “said a separate agreement between Airbnb and the city to have the web site automatically deduct the hotel tax has not been finalized.”
Read the full story