Add the San Francisco branch of the Democratic Party to those formally calling for Airbnb to pay its back taxes.
The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, the local Democratic Party’s governing body, voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve a resolution calling for Airbnb and other short-term rental companies to pay back taxes to the city. Opponents of legislation that legalized short-term rentals in the city, which Mayor Ed Lee signed in October, estimate Airbnb owes San Francisco $25 million for not collecting the hotel tax over the past few years.
Airbnb and others dispute that amount, and references to $25 million were stricken from the resolution because the total owed is unclear.
The resolution, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Leno, Supervisor David Campos and committee member Meagan Levitan, is symbolic as the DCCC can’t compel Airbnb to do anything. It does, however, send a public message as a group of activists, including veteran affordable housing advocate Calvin Welch, former Planning Commissioner Doug Engmann and public relations professional Dale Carlson, prepare a measure for the November ballot to require collection of back taxes and place further limitations on short-term rentals.
San Francisco law had banned most housing rentals of less than 30 days, but the matter was rarely enforced as vacation rental sites websites like Airbnb and VRBO flourished. San Francisco-based Airbnb is now valued at $13 billion, more than some major hotel chains.
Former Supervisor David Chiu, now a freshman member of the state Assembly, last year authored legislation legalizing short-term rentals but placing restrictions on their use. The law limits short-term rental hosts to permanent residents, who must register with the city. The rental of entire homes is capped at 90 days per year and the hotel tax must be collected. However, the law is silent on the issue of back taxes that should have been paid for earlier rentals.
Nick Papas, a spokesman for Airbnb, said earlier in a written statement that the company is “already engaged in a formal process with the treasurer’s office regarding back taxes and we are eager to discuss a resolution. We look forward to resolving this matter in the spirit of this balanced new law.”
State Republicans, meanwhile, were eager to paint San Francisco Democrats as anti-business.
“To demand taxes retroactively in one lump sum is crushing an emerging industry,” Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen said in a video posted on YouTube before the Airbnb vote as she led a GOP contingent on a bus tour through Silicon Valley. See it here: http://bit.ly/15M3zkd.