Companies like Airbnb are exacerbating California’s affordable housing crisis, but lawmakers in Sacramento want to give the company a free ride.
Assemblymember Matt Harper -- an Orange County Republican -- has introduced AB1220, a bill that prohibits cities from collecting taxes on short term residential rentals, like those rented through AirBnB.
Sign on to tell your Assemblymember to support affordable housing, not handouts to Airbnb: reject AB1220.
The explosion in short term rentals through AirBnB is decreasing long term rental stock in California, and driving up prices. And in many California cities, there are laws against converting scarce housing resources to tourist use. Using political influence, Airbnb has engaged in a systematic campaign to dismantle those laws and avoid paying any taxes to offset their impact. Now, Airbnb is taking their lobbying efforts to the state level, and this bill could exempt the company from local taxes.
It’s bad enough cities are losing valuable rental housing stock. The least AirBnB and the property owners that use it can do is pay their fair share.
We can kill this bill if we let Democrats in Sacramento know we are watching. Democrats control the legislature, but history shows they will quietly pander to special interests like Airbnb unless we expose this.
This bill could be heard any day in the Assembly Committee on Local Government. If enough of us speak out right now, we can make sure this bill never makes it out of Committee. But we have to act now or you can be guaranteed that Assemblymembers will push it forward.
Sign on right now to tell your Assemblymember to reject AB1220.
Sign On and We'll Deliver Your Message to California State Assemblymembers:
"Cities need funding for affordable housing, not tax breaks for companies like Airbnb. I urge you to reject AB 1220, which would prevent cities from collecting Transient Occupancy Tax from companies like Airbnb that promote short term rentals, diminish housing stock and drive up rent."