We have informed you in the past of efforts by Truro to improve Town revenues by seeking legislative  approval to collect a tax, variously described as a “room occupancy tax”  or a “lodging tax.” which already applies to hotels and motels which must collect this tax from lodgers.  Recent efforts by many Towns have been made to apply this to vacation rentals  of private homes as well, as both a matter of fairness to commercial and quasi-commercial lodgings and as a new source of tax revenues for Truro and other Towns.  This 11.25% (estimated) tax would be collected  from short-term renters of less than 90 days as a pass-through by homeowners, just as it is now collected by hotels, motels, B&B’s and AirBnBs.  In other words, it is not a tax on property owners. If the legislation passes, it would be the responsibility of property owners who rent less than 90 days a year to collect and report this tax to the Town and State.  This tax could generate substantial taxes for Truro.  However, not all support this legislation, including WeNeedaVacation.com.  To give you both perspectives we include this link to their related blog.

MA Senate bill S243  (see Section 67)  was put before the MA House and Senate this summer but a vote was not taken before session closed at the end of July.  However, it is possible that vote can still be taken post-sesssion and before October.  If you have views on this bill, pro or con, now is the time to express them to our State Sen. Dan Wolf and State Rep. Sarah Peake,  and to members of the conference committee handling this legislation, Rep. Joseph Wagner and Rep.  Brian Dempsey.  House Speaker Robert DeLeo will also determine of the act goes forward to Gov. Baker for signature. 

As and if we have more news we will keep you posted,  Until then, we hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!  As always, thank you for your interest and support.