Earlier this year, Seattle Times print subscribers were treated to a full-color, two-and-a-half-page ad wrapped around their Tuesday paper that read, “Say NO to the Vacation Tax.” The implication was that short-term rentals were under attack.
“Short-term rentals provide an affordable way for us to vacation,” claimed the ad, which was paid for by a PAC funded exclusively by Airbnb. This proposed “vacation tax,” the ad implied, would mean an end to affordable getaways in Washington.
More specifically, Airbnb was campaigning against Senate Bill 5576, a proposed 4 percent tax that local Washington state governments could excise on short-term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo. The upside:
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