In The News
Marty Dakessian Featured in Bloomberg BNA Report about LA’s Hotel Tax on AirBNB
In a recent Bloomberg BNA report, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer filed four civil and criminal complaints against landlords who were renting out apartment buildings through AirBNB. The city attorney alleged that the landlords were engaged in illegal activity that was exacerbating the City’s shortage of affordable housing. These civil actions follow a recent study which found that Los Angeles hotels and lodgings are losing approximately $41 million in taxes because of Airbnb Inc.
Attorney Marty Dakessian weighed in on the civil actions, stating that there was a tension between the City’s desire to subject AirBNB operators to its transient occupancy tax—essentially a hotel tax imposed upon travelers—and the City’s desire to address a shortage in affordable housing. Dakessian also commented on the City’s adoption of regulations on short-term rental operations, noting that the city saw an opportunity for revenue and acted.
The regulations will affect matters such as time limits on renting homes through businesses like AirBNB, payment of the transient occupancy tax, and fines for noncompliance.
