Airbnb has collected more than $85 million in Room Occupancy Tax in Puerto Rico, since the signing of a voluntary collection agreement in 2017, the company announced.
This tax has been collected on the island since 2017 due to a Voluntary Collection Agreement (VCA) entered between the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) and Airbnb.
“Airbnb is pleased to be a partner in Puerto Rico with the voluntary room tax collection and also help Puerto Ricans earn extra income. One year after Airbnbâs participation in the House of Representatives public hearings on House Bill 1557, Airbnb reiterates the support for an island-wide regulation that allows for the orderly growth of short-term accommodations so that more people can earn extra income and contribute to the redistribution of tourism in Puerto Rico. The municipalities are also a key piece in this orderly growth and in the redistribution of tourism, so Airbnb understands the need for a collection item of the Occupancy Fee that is proposed in Senate Bill 936,” said Carlos Muñoz, Director of Public Policy for Airbnb Central America and Caribbean.
In 2014, the first VCAs were signed with San Francisco and Portland and since then it has worked with thousands of jurisdictions globally – through agreements or legislation – to lighten the administrative burden on local governments and simplify the process of collecting and remitting a range of taxes on behalf of hosts on Airbnb such as tax collection.
