Holidaymakers to Victoria will pay more to use short-stay accommodations like Airbnb, as the state’s treasurer pushes ahead with a controversial new levy.
Trips in Victoria booked after January 1 next year will be charged an additional 7.5 per cent levy.
Councils will also be given new powers to limit or ban short-stay property owners in a policy backflip by the Allan government.
“Decisions of this nature are difficult,” Treasurer Tim Pallas said today.
“It’s not a punishment. It’s essentially a contribution.”
The policy is designed to free up housing by encouraging investors to change some of the estimated 50,000 short-stay properties in Victoria into long-term rentals.
“I’d like to see as many as we could, to be honest,” Pallas said.
The policy has been met with support from the Greens and outrage from tourism groups and Airbnb.
“Let’s be clear, this is not a tax on the property owner, it’s a tax on the consumer,” Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said.
Greens MP Gabrielle De Vietri said the move would be a “crackdown on property investors hoarding homes for profit”.
A spokesperson from Airbnb insisted that far from hoarding property investors, hosts were just average people.
“Our hosts are ordinary mum and dad Victorians who are just trying to make some extra income,” Airbnb head of policy Michael Crosby told 9News.
The biggest concern for the tourism industry and business groups is that Victoria could be the only state with the new fee next year, with fears it would create a clear disadvantage for an already struggling sector.
“This tax is going to make Victoria a very unaffordable, unattractive destination,” Mariani said.
