01-08-2008, 08:21 PM
No Jenny, only B&B's are inspected by the health department before being licensed, specifically the kitchen because they serve food. They also require a use permit from the County.
On the Big Island, there are no vacation rental permits, but the State levies transient accommodations tax in addition to general excise tax on all rentals less than 30 days. (Long term rentals, just GE tax.)
In Hawai`i, anyone can go to the State office and get a GE and TAT (transient accommodations tax) license. You collect your tax from guests and pay the state. This does not in any way "license" your accommodations the way a use permit would do. You can be perfectly legal paying all your taxes and be totally in violation of the zoning. County and State don't yet communicate.
If neighbors complain about zoning violations, I presume you can be shut down, but the County is not going to take an interest otherwise.
So, to sum up, it is not a scam when they collect tax, but you can ask for the tax ID number if you don't trust them to pay the taxes. But neither does it mean anything more than they pulled a tax license. No one comes out and looks at the rentals; consumer beware, do your homework.
This is why word of mouth is important, people tell other people that the place really is good and the owners are not just posting pictures on the net that don't match the reality.
On the Big Island, there are no vacation rental permits, but the State levies transient accommodations tax in addition to general excise tax on all rentals less than 30 days. (Long term rentals, just GE tax.)
In Hawai`i, anyone can go to the State office and get a GE and TAT (transient accommodations tax) license. You collect your tax from guests and pay the state. This does not in any way "license" your accommodations the way a use permit would do. You can be perfectly legal paying all your taxes and be totally in violation of the zoning. County and State don't yet communicate.
If neighbors complain about zoning violations, I presume you can be shut down, but the County is not going to take an interest otherwise.
So, to sum up, it is not a scam when they collect tax, but you can ask for the tax ID number if you don't trust them to pay the taxes. But neither does it mean anything more than they pulled a tax license. No one comes out and looks at the rentals; consumer beware, do your homework.
This is why word of mouth is important, people tell other people that the place really is good and the owners are not just posting pictures on the net that don't match the reality.