Anchorage voters won’t be asked whether to add a five percent tax to short-term rentals like Airbnbs.
That’s after Assembly members rejected the proposed ballot initiative Tuesday night.
North Anchorage Assembly member Daniel Volland had proposed the tax and said short-term rentals can have negative impacts on the housing market.
“They reduce the supply of housing units, and I think that they do have an impact on the cost of housing,” Volland said.
Revenue from the tax would have gone into a fund aimed at bolstering the city’s housing market.
Assembly members have a number of tax proposals before them in order to address the city’s tough fiscal situation, including an increase to the city’s room tax and a 3% sales tax. Assembly vice chair Anna Brawley said she doubted that the Airbnb tax policy would be effective and questioned proposing another tax to voters.
“Given the other kind of revenue discussions, I do wonder if this is the time or if this is the right thing to put before voters, given all of the kinds of other economic headwinds that we are facing,” Brawley said.
The Assembly voted down the tax proposal 8 to 4, with members Volland, Chris Constant, Yarrow Silvers and Kameron Perez-Verdia in support.
Earlier in the meeting, the Assembly also voted 10 to 2 to require that short-term rentals be registered with the city. Members Scott Myers and Keith McCormick opposed the registration ordinance. Supporters say the registration will allow the city to have accurate data on the impact the properties have on the community.
