Taxes Spike On Dozens Of St. Louis Airbnb Properties

[Sherman A1]

The St. Louis assessor’s office on Friday sent out letters to the owners of 235 properties listed on Airbnb, informing them that their property value — and taxes — are going up.

The properties have been reclassified from residential to commercial, taking their property tax rate from 19% to 32%.

St. Louis Assessor Michael Dauphin said his office combed through hundreds of properties listed on Airbnb to find ones they believe are commercial enterprises, where the owner lives off-site. They found that the owners of more than half of the reclassified properties live outside of St. Louis, in states as far as California, Colorado and Arizona.

“It is a significant increase, but that’s what every other commercial business owner is paying for their property in the city, so it’s only fair that these short-term rentals are doing the same,” he said, adding that this is an ongoing priority for the city.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/taxes-spike-dozens-st-louis-airbnb-properties

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Only fair to other business owners. I'm surprised that STLMO assessors actually were on the ball...

on this. Good for them.

[KT2000]

2. Good!

Airbnb and Uber are circumventing regulations established for businesses - and that includes safety for the public. Governments need to catch up with this new business model.