The proposed Short Stay Levy Bill 2024 will contribute to unsustainable financial burdens on accommodation providers in our region while not easing the rental housing crisis, local businesses claim.
The so-called ‘AirBnB Tax’ was introduced by Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson to the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday 27 August and passed the Lower House last week, paving the way for a 7.5 per cent levy to be imposed on short stay accommodation bookings from 1 January 2025. The government says that short stay rentals reduce the number of properties available for longer term accommodation for families who need a place to live.
However, Maldon Inc. President Barry Robinson says that if the bill becomes law, that it will have unintended consequences that are harmful to regional Victorian towns.
“Like hundreds of regional towns across the country, Maldon needs a constant flow of new Maldon locals, from tree-changers to young families,” he says.
“But we also need tourism and events and accommodation.”
Accommodation owner Kate Gamble believes that the proposed tax will not achieve its stated aims.
“I understand the need for housing but Maldon’s historic housing stock makes lousy full time rentals, needing significant investment and maintenance to get it to current standards,” she says.
“Locally they are often renovated to a high standard, so unlikely to ever be ‘affordable’ full time rentals.”
Furthermore, the pressures placed by the proposed tax may simply mean that the properties go on the market to be sold. Kate says that further financial pressures may make it impossible for accommodation providers to continue.
“Land tax has already increased, there is also a vacancy tax and now this. Put the three together and it becomes untenable.” The risk Kate says, is that owners will be forced to operate on a loss or close, leaving visitors to Maldon and similar small towns with fewer affordable options for places to stay.
“It will undoubtedly make accommodation more expensive,” she says.
Pointing to the variety of industries that work together to make Maldon an attractive place to live and to visit, Barry hopes that the bill kick-starts a conversation about how accommodation contributes to the mix. “We need an eco-system; of things to see and do, to eat, play and stay,” he says.
The Short Stay Levy Bill 2024 had its second reading in the Upper House of the Victorian Parliament on Thursday 12 September. The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to resume on Tuesday 15 October, when debate on the bill is expected to continue.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 20 September 2024.