SAN JOSE, Calif.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, San Jose will soon become the third city to legalize and tax Airbnb rentals, the increasingly popular service, in which residents offer-up space in their homes for strangers looking for a hotel lodging alternative.
San Jose would begin taxing all Airbnb rentals at the 10% currently charged on hotel rooms. Both San Francisco and Portland are already taxing the service at rates of 14% and 12.5%, respectively. Chicago is the next city expected to begin taxing the home-sharing service.
It is said that San Jose's situation is different from the others, in that most people using Airbnb to stay in the area are business travelers, looking to spend a week in Silicon Valley or elsewhere, versus a majority booking for leisure purposes.
The tax would generate a modest $150,000 per year for San Jose, whose traditional hotels are operating at or near capacity on a regular basis.
