WAILUKU — Maui officials have begun implementing a 10-year tourism strategic plan that includes efforts to discourage visitors from staying in illegal vacation rentals.
WAILUKU — Maui officials have begun implementing a 10-year tourism strategic plan that includes efforts to discourage visitors from staying in illegal vacation rentals.
The Maui News reports the county’s Office of Economic Development and the Maui Visitors Bureau are developing a messaging plan geared for visitors to dissuade booking illegal vacation rentals.
Visitors will be encouraged to ask if short-term vacation rentals are legal, and they will be referred to the county’s website to help find legal accommodations.
The bureau also plans to advertise on popular tourism websites.
Teena Rasmussen, the economic development director, says short-term rental websites have caused tourists to enter every neighborhood on the island, causing frustrations for residents because of noise and congestion.
The tourism plan was unveiled in November and will continue through 2026.
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Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com
I think this comment would be appropriate for this article as well.
This is another Hawaii Government IQ TEST for our well paid gov’t workers and elected leaders.
Subpoenaing AirBnB records to tax individuals for the rental income they have received; and too many individuals have not even charged for any taxes to their guests, nor are the proper amount of taxes being paid, which easily amounts to huge amount of $$$ millions of dollars per year that the state has lost out on.
Some large cities on the mainland make AirBnB pay all the taxes, and on time too, since they are the ones that not only inform the guests of the taxes and cleaning fees to be paid, but also collect the taxes from the guests and forward them to the home or condo owner working with AirBnB.
Furthermore, besides AirBnB, there are at least 100 other similar companies who provide a similar AirBnB service, they are referred to as OTA’s, or Online Travel Agencies…VRBO, HOMEAWAY, FlipKey, Pagoda, Cloudbeds, etc.
HAWAII should make it for these OTA’s in order to operate in Hawaii, that they the OTA’s, the AirBnB’s, etc., should pay the taxes all at once every month, on time, online, on the already in place Hawaii State Tax website for Transient Accommodation Tax (10.25%) and Excise Tax (4.0 or 4.16?).
This way the Home or Condo owner is not even in the picture and whether legal or illegal the tax would be paid and NON-REFUNDABLE if the rental unit is found to be illegal.
As well the OTA’s would already have the addresses of the rental unit, legal or otherwise, in order to see who is operating illegally in Hawaii.
The way the State is looking to do this is definitely the “Cart Befoe the Horse” or Bass Ackward. Or like like washing the rice one grain at a time.
It’s only software to make it happen and the OTA’s are already collecting the taxes but paying it to the landlord when they could be paying the taxes directly to the state and leaving the little guy out of the picture.
The extra money in taxes immediately collected could send some of our government workers and elected leaders to Smart School, and be sure to send the Missile Alert guy with them…front seat.
This should have been done years ago and would benefit the legal landlords of needing to file monthly ontime.
After tuition is paid at Smart School, maybe some roads could be fixed, aren’t we all tired of chipped teeth?
Mahalo,
Charles
And that Hawaii Tax
Airbnb and all similar sites collect and remit the necessary taxes