LAKE WORTH, Fla.-- Palm Beach County Commissioners approved on Tuesday new regulations on property owners who rent their homes over Airbnb and other similar websites.
The new rules require property owners to register and collect the county’s 6% Tourism Development Tax and pay the county themselves.
“This is so illogical to me,” says Lake Worth homeowner Williams Hoffman who rents part of his home on Airbnb.
Many homeowners at the commission meeting suggested Palm Beach County allow Airbnb to collect the taxes online, something the website does in Dade and Broward counties.
The county is currently involved in a lawsuit with Airbnb over how to collect the taxes.
“What they want to do is pay us that’s it, we have to go to court and get a subpoena and that’s not acceptable to us,” says Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon.
“If I have to trust either Airbnb or the local government, I would prefer that Airbnb collect my taxes and pay the government,” Hoffman says.
In a statement, Airbnb says: “Palm Beach County is wasting taxpayer dollars on expensive litigation and now has passed an ordinance that violates federal and state law.”