Levy on short-term rental bookings in Canberra will have ‘very modest’ impact on housing supply

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A levy on short-term rental accommodation booking is only expected to have a very modest impact on housing supply in Canberra with the main aim of the planned tax to raise revenue. The government is hoping to have it in place by July but still needs the support of the legislative assembly.

Transcript

00:00There are more than 1100 short term rentals in the ACT and soon they may be more costly

00:08to stay in as the government seeks to impose a 5% levy on bookings which will likely be

00:14passed on to consumers.

00:15We think this will have a modest incentive for short term accommodation providers to

00:22offer more longer term rentals.

00:25But any increase to housing supply is likely to be small with the Treasurer saying the

00:30main aim behind the levy is to raise revenue and level out the playing field.

00:36There are a range of existing accommodation providers like hotels that pay a range of

00:42taxes including payroll taxes that aren't paid by short term rental providers.

00:49Airbnb says it supports fair and evidence based regulation of the sector and says it's

00:54important to get the balance right so that housing issues are addressed while not jeopardising

00:59the economic benefits that flow from short term rentals.

01:03Stays says they're concerned the levy will cause disruption and confusion for travellers

01:08and hosts arguing it's being rushed into effect without proper testing.

01:13The government committed to the levy in its most recent budget which estimated it would

01:17raise $3.8 million in its first year.

01:21The legislation is modelled on a similar 7.5% levy in Victoria.

01:26The government wants the levy to be in place from July but still needs the support of the

01:30Legislative Assembly.

01:31The Greens say it falls far short of addressing the housing crisis while the Canberra Liberals

01:36say they have serious concerns calling it a desperate revenue raising measure.

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