ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — The Allegheny County treasurer has proposed new legislation that would allow the county to collect hotel tax from Airbnb renters.
Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein says, the majority of owners of the rooms and private homes for overnight rental in the Pittsburgh area are not paying the 7 percent hotel tax required by law.
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The Airbnb website lists hundreds of these rooms and homes offered on its website, but only a couple dozen are registered.
“We're going to actively go after all of them. It's on our agenda to make sure that people who are advertising their properties for rent are registered and pay,” said Weinstein.
According to a website that tracks Airbnb stays, there were more than 3,200 bookings in the Pittsburgh area between August 2014 and September 2015.
Those Airbnb stays generated $530,000 in revenue, which leads up to $37,000 in unpaid taxes that were not collected.
Those numbers are expected to significantly increase with the return of the U.S. Open returning to Oakmont this summer.
A spokesman for Airbnb told Channel 11, “We are eager to work with policymakers in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to ensure our community can pay their fair share."
Weinstein said owners who still don’t comply could face stiff penalties.
“If we find people who've violated, we can file civil actions against them. We could actually shut their home down because of that,” said Weinstein.