EDITORIAL A tax deal with Airbnb

One down, many to go. The provincial government has made a deal with Airbnb, as laws and regulations try to catch up with the digital economy. Finance Minister Carole James announced an agreement with the short-term rental company to collect taxes, thereby assuaging some of the concerns of hotel owners. People who rent rooms or homes through Airbnb and similar organizations have been able to escape paying taxes, which, the hotel industry says, makes for unfair competition.

While the industry didn’t get all it asked for, the shortterm rentals will start paying eight per cent in provincial sales tax and up to three per cent in municipal or regional district “hotel” taxes. In the case of Airbnb, the government estimates that will bring in $16 million a year to the province and $5 million a year to municipalities.

As James said, the sharing economy is here. Trying to ignore it or crush it won’t work. People vote with their dollars, regardless of what legislators and longstanding industries might wish.

Municipalities can still make regulations, as Victoria and Vancouver have done, to limit short-term rentals in hopes of freeing units for long-term renters who are scrambling to find somewhere to live. Whether that will work is anyone’s guess, but housing affordability has to be a concern for everyone involved in this process.

With Airbnb dealt with, the government will soon have to do something about other up-and-coming businesses, chiefly ride-hailing services. Uber is going to be a much tougher nut to crack.