Following its offer to collect and pay $21 million in taxes in New York City and a smaller initiative in Portland, Airbnb has agreed to pay the San Francisco’s 14 percent hotel tax by the summer. The move could potentially add millions to city coffers and help Airbnb avoid conflict with regulators, according to this article from SFGate. Under the plan, Airbnb would collect and remit to the city taxes that originate directly from guests as an extra charge on their bill, the same way that hotels collect them, the article says. For example, a guest staying in a $100-per-night Airbnb room would pay an extra $14 a night. Out of the 32,000 cities worldwide where Airbnb operates, San Francisco and Portland, Ore., would be the first ones where it collects hotel taxes. Read more at SFGate.
