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Macuu222,
But is that really a vacation rental, or just sharing amongst friends?
I think this law is aimed at the literally 1000s of VRBO places found across all the islands. On any given day craigslist has close to 100 listings for just this island, and even more for Maui and Kauai. These places fly under the radar in terms of licenses and taxes, but are pretty overt in their advertising. I think the word of mouth/renting to friends people will continue to fly under the radar, but the people who live on the mainland, use mainland contact numbers, and advertise with VRBO to rent a resort condo for $500 a night can afford to pay a management team and the GET.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Ignorance is bliss and ignorance will get this law passed.
There are already laws to get the tax cheats and vacation rentals would be fairly easy to catch - we have a state tax ID. IMHO there are likely more residential rentals of rooms/ohanas that the GE/TAT isn't paid the state and much more difficult to prove. If this bill passes, the next step will be to require same stipulation for resident owners. Are there some bad apple vacation owners? Yep, likely about the same as bad apple real estate licensees.
If you think there is a fair amount of vacation rental tax cheating going on - PROVE IT. The state tax agency couldn't. They also have testimony in opposition to these bills.
A very bad law that needs to die forever.
David
ETA EDUCATIONAL LINK
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1707
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As a vacation rental operator, I *know* there is lots of cheating going on. I don't know a lot of vacation rental owners here, but several of the few I do know have already told me they don't pay the taxes on all their rentals (taxes they collect, I might add...). I don't think the aim of this law is to collect more taxes...as others have mentioned, it's a protection for renters -- giving them a local contact they can reach when things go wrong (the legal contact required by licensing laws is basically someone who can accept a subpoena). And since one can be a "non-resident" owner even if he/she lives on a neighbor island, it's not an anti-haole, no vote, no representation issue. I think it's a good bill , but I still oppose it because as long as the House of Cards is still standing, people's dogs can attack peaceful walkers with no repercussions, and fighting chicken farms exist in plain sight, I don't see the purpose in enacting another law that will not or cannot be enforced. It'll just reinforce the general perception that people who play by the rules are saps.
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But, as has already been mentioned...this law is to go into effect in 988 years... on January 1, 3000...so this is the most forethought I have seen from this state, or any other...At this point I would not spend much effort on the bill as written (the staff of rep. Evans should be really asked what they were thinking with that in effect date...)
I honestly do not think this bill will pass with that in-effect date... and probably will get more changes...if it even passes...
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There is a good reason for this bill and it's about time. There is already a bill on the books that a company renting and/or managing more than one rental unit needs to have broker's license but it has never been enforced outside of complaints from homeowners. I speak from experience. Our state relies heavily on tourism and the impression that tourism is handled in a professional manner throughout the state. A RE broker must live by a code of ethics and rules or risk losing their license. IF a renter has a problem they have a board they can go to. The horror stories include large deposits paid by vacationers swho arrive only to find a foreclosure notice on their rental and no way to find the owner. Or major problems with a house and a nonresponsive owner. Taxes are indeed part of the issue and I for one see nothing wrong with a level playing field.
There is also the issue of homeowner's homes not being properly taken care of. But that's another story.
This is not about "renting" to friends, but rather renting homes with the impression of professionalism. The state needs to protect its most important industry or we all suffer. If you think it's about brokers trying to muscle in on the business, try to find a broker who actually wants to do vacatoin rentals. I think it's more about people who want to od rentals getting their broker's license and learning ethics along the way.
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Bills generally use the January 1, 3000 date as a placeholder. It gets modified towards the end of the process.
Jerry
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I have a couple of friends (retired teacher & psychologist), well, they no longer live on island, so maybe just acquaintances. They used to berate me that I did not have any cash based income. Their point being that such an income would be tax-free. Guess I should have come on this forum and others and ranted how Liberal/Democrats (and they are) cheat the system.
If posters here definitely know cheats, then turn them in - they should have a state tax ID and traceable. Do the right thing and not be an accomplice to the problem.
While easy to post the scare stories about craigslist, foreclosures, etc, these same stories apply to property for sale and for rental and already listed with licensed agents. If memory serves there was even a PW discussion in the past. There are many scams being run out there, but I doubt many are run by legitimate owners.
Poor service is not reserved to non resident owners, but most of what is termed poor service and gets complaints does not fall under any of the legal protections being claimed.
I tried do do a quick search to find the $500/night rentals here on the eastside - need some help.
Still a bad bill. Only about 2 steps removed from also making FSBO illegal. Will you also support that?
David
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David, I appreciate your point, but I think you are missing something. Protections also need to extend to homeowners. There alreay is a law regardng vacation rental companies needing a brokers license but it is not enforced. In my case, I am still owed a great deal of money from a company still in business. I was never paid on time and finally realized that they were using my money to finance their other operations. My money was supposed to be placed in a trust account but because they know they can flaunt the law, they do. To me, I am being failed by state and county government. It's not only about the tourists, but also about homeowners who are in legal jeopardy without realizing it.
There is absolutely no relation to this bill and FSBO. There is no relation whatsoever. It's about protecting the state's image to the worldwide tourist business. This is not government being intrusive, but geovernment doing its job. Now they need to enforce HR467
