In the very near future, I will be introducing legislation that will provide for online home sharing and short-term rental service companies doing business in Pennsylvania to share information with local taxing authorities.
 
All hotels, bed and breakfasts, and individuals who act as “hosts” by offering temporary overnight accommodation to the public are required to collect state and county hotel taxes from patrons and remit to the appropriate taxing authority.
 
However, some home sharing or short-term hosts are not aware of their obligation to collect state and county hotel taxes, or are simply ignoring the law. My legislation strengthens and builds accountability and addresses issues with reporting hotel rental transaction information to support the accurate collection of county hotel taxes.  This legislation will empower counties to require, by ordinance, hotel operators and booking agents to report transaction information such as occupancy dates, identifying information on renters, amount of rent collected, as well as any tax exemptions applied.
 
Confirming that all online home sharing and short-term rental companies are fulfilling this minimal reporting obligation will ensure that conventional hotels and bed and breakfast establishments are not put at a competitive disadvantage, creating transparency and fairness. Furthermore, this will ensure that appropriate taxes are collected for state and local revenue planning. 
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.

If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Christine Zubeck in my office at 717-787-6123 or czubeck@pasen.gov.  Thank you for your consideration.