Victoria will introduce a levy on AirBnB that is designed to improve the housing situation, but does it go far enough?
Premier Daniel Andrews announced a 7.5 per cent levy on platforms such as AirBnB and Stayz, which is expected to raise about $70 million annually to fund social and affordable housing.
It probably won’t solve the housing crisis. Many of these properties are simply spare real estate the owners have sitting around as holiday homes they hoped to generate a bit of income from. If it all gets too hard, they’ll just stop renting them out.
Short-term rentals are calling the tax ‘greedy’ but as a lucrative business, they can expect to be taxed. It’s part of the reason alcohol is taxed so high.
However, the one that takes the cake is a woman complaining it may force her on to a pension. My dear, if you can afford an investment property, you probably don’t need the pension.
Does it worry you these transactions are taxed
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