The Franklin County Commission has agreed to hold a workshop early next year to discuss the possibility of instituting a licensing or registration program for local lodging companies including people who rent out their own properties.
Franklin County Tourist Development Council Director Curt Blair told county commissioners this month that a licensing program may be needed to insure that everyone who is renting properties is paying the county's sales and tourist tax.
Some type of licensing program is becoming necessary as more people take advantage of services live AirBnB and Vacation Rentals by Owner.
The number of people using the VRBO service has increased by nearly 400 percent over the past 2 years and the county has no way of knowing if those people are paying the taxes they are supposed to.
Blair said the registration would give the county a clear understanding of who is actually paying the tourist tax as well as the 3% sales tax that goes directly to the county.
There would be other benefits to the program in that it would give the county the ability to insure that
transient lodging facilities are meeting health and safety codes, zoning laws and occupancy limits.
At this time the registration is just an idea, but the county said it would like to discuss it further and consider some of the issues including how the program would be implemented and whether it would require the county to hire a code enforcement officer.
They would also like to discuss what role the county tax collector's office would play in the program.
County Commissioners say they would like to hold the workshop in the new year with the TDC and the tax collectors office.
http://live.oysterradio.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment