Category Archives: sharing economy

INTERIM. Private Property Rights + Sharing Economy. Local Regs from the Northwest.

Which city in the Northwest is proposing new short term rental ordinances? Seattle

The intel you need to know:

What opponents to Seattle’s regulations say:

  • Seattle’s regulations “deprive [Seattle property owners] of our ability to keep ourselves afloat” during hard times
  • Harming people who provide inexpensive accommodations to visitors to Seattle, who then spend money in Seattle
  • Disrupting Seattle’s social fabric by allowing short term rentals that bring people into neighborhoods…

INTERIM. TREND. Sharing Economy. Short Term Rentals. Rental Guides.

New Sharing Economy Business Trend: Rent a Human to Guide you through the interesting aspects of the area of your short term rental.

The Rent a Human Program Name:  City Hosts. Like a Zombie Hosts on a Human.

the Goal: Like the AirBnB commercials, short term rentals are about the experience

Example Experiences:

  • Adventures with a kite surfer in SF
  • Vietnamese cooking lessons with a Parisian chef
  • Tour London’s Grime music scene with a record scout

Example Regulations: Do…

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. From the Right. 3 Reasons Cities Should NOT Block Short Term Rentals.

Cities should not block short term rentals because:

  • Its an economic boon that levels peak pricing by hotels
  • It frees “trapped capital” like the unused spare bedroom
  • It is not shown to make housing less affordable

The solution to neighborhood concerns:

  • Amend existing noise or traffic ordinances

Trib Talk | Josiah Neeley | R Street Institute | Texas cities shouldn’t block short-term rentals

TRENDING. INTERIM. SHARING ECONOMY. Private property rights. Short Term Rentals.

Which city is moving forward to regulate short term rentals after “animal house” complaints? Chicago

What regulations are being considered?

  • Commerical regulation for any property rented out for more than 90 days within 1 year
  • 4% surcharge to online rentals with revenue dedicated to homeless services

Chicago may regulate Airbnb home sharing amid ‘Animal House’-style complaints | Chicago Tribune 

INTERIM. Private Property Rights. Sharing Economy. Short Term Rentals. Lege Trend from Pacific.

Your informed intel:

The Legislature: Hawaii

The Bill passed: Hawaii’s  HB 1850 

The short term rental tax: 

  • Who is collecting the tax? The tax broker short term lease facilitator (HomeAway, AirbNb)
  • Which taxes are being imposed? general excise tax & transient accommodations tax
  • Supported by short ter rental companies? Yes

Concerns:

  • Is there enough accountability for the sharing economy companies?
  • Sharing economy companies should be held accountable for illegal camping,…

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. Red State Moves to Prevent Cities from Banning Short Term Rentals.

What’s going on & where? The Arizona Senate passed a bill to keep cities from shutting down short term rentals.

What would the bill do?

  • Allow city regulations to be only “narrowly tailored”
  • Limit regulations to fire and building codes, public health & sanitation
  • Require the webhosts to collect taxes

Institute for Justice | Arizona Senate Votes to Ban Cities from Banning Airbnb, Couch-Surfing

Arizona SB 1350

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. Private Property Rights Meets Sales Tax.

This week Louisiana passed a sales tax expansion to apply a 4% sales tax on short term rentals.

What you need to know about the short term rental sales tax:

  • Louisiana could not estimate how much the tax would generate because:
    • The number of short term rentals is unknown
    • The revenue generated from short term rentals is also unknown
  • The sales tax passed because of a historic $900 M shortfall
  • How did they do it? Expanded the definition of hotel/motel

NOLA.com | Times Picayune…

Private Property Rights TREND: Air Share Regulations. Sharing Economy. INTERIM.

Is air share on a digital platform permitted? In August 2014, the FAA shut down air share, and limits open seats to friends of the pilot only.

What fix is in the works to allow air share? Congressman Mark Sanford added an amendment for air share to the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016 

Americans for Tax Reform | Planesharing Aims for Liftoff Despite FAA Drag
 

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. Private Property. Southern State Strikes Deal on Taxes & Short Term Rentals.

Which Southern state struck a deal with AirBnB? Alabama

Which Alablama taxes will be collected by AirBNB?

  • The state’s Transient Occupancy Tax
  • local lodgings taxes, if the responsibility for collection of those taxes has been assigned to the state’s tax office

is this an outlier tax agreement? No, it follows a model that other states & local taxing jurisdictions have followed

Birmingham Business Journal | Alabama strikes deal with Airbnb on tax collections

Washington Post | Airbnb…

INTERIM. SHARING ECONOMY. Property Ownership Fairness Act. 4 Things to Know Before the Activists Arrive.

The Goldwater Institute & CATO  are pushing the Property Ownership Fairness Act that:

  • “requires government to pay you when regulations take away your right to use your property and reduce the value of your property.”
  • allows for regulation and the use of eminent domain but there has to be notice, so if the government changes the rules of the game, then the property owner should be compensated
  • it’s modeled after Arizona’s 

What does this Act apply to? Short Term Rental ordinances….