Proponent Testimony of Andrew W. Herf, Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus — HB 161
Summary
Proponent testimony of Andrew W. Herf, Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, to the Ohio House Development Committee in support of HB 161. The testimony states that House Bill 161 would require short-term rentals in Ohio to collect and remit lodging and sales taxes at the current rate of the jurisdiction, in the same manner as hotels. It states that the bill does not change the distribution of those funds and that one hundred percent of the sales taxes would go to the counties directly. It also says the bill does not change local regulations.
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“Proponent Testimony of Andrew W. Herf, Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus — HB 161.”
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Proponent Testimony of Andrew W. Herf
Executive Director, Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus
before the Ohio House Development Committee
in support of HB 161
Chairman Hoops, Vice Chair Lorenz, Ranking Member Abdullahi and members of
the House Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify as a
proponent of House Bill 161.
I am here today on behalf of the Ohio Association of Convention
and Visitor Bureaus, which represents CVBs across the state of Ohio. CVBs are
funded by lodging taxes and work closely with municipalities, townships and
county governments in an effort to market the region to potential visitors who
come to Ohio.
House Bill 161 would establish that short-term rentals in Ohio are required to
collect and remit lodging and sales taxes. Those taxes would be at the current
rate of the jurisdiction that they are in and in the same manner that hotel and
lodging members also currently pay. House Bill 161 does not change the
distribution of those funds, so if a convention and visitors bureau in a particular
jurisdiction gets 33% of the lodging tax, they would receive 33% of the lodging
taxes collected by short-term rentals. Additionally, House Bill 161 would require
the collection and remittance of sales taxes. One hundred percent of the sales
taxes would go to the counties directly. It is our position that if a hotel in a county
or a city pays lodging and sales taxes, then short-term rentals should be required
to make the same payment at the same rate as others doing the exact same
business for the nights that the short-term rentals have visitors who stay
overnight.
The Ohio sales tax was originally enacted in 1933, municipal lodging taxes in
1967 and county lodging taxes in 1980. These taxes are not new, but the
business model--investors purchasing property and marketing them on huge
online platforms--is new. HB 161 seeks to modernize the tax code in the same
way the Ohio legislature applies local sales taxes to online purchases or accepts
cryptocurrency to pay taxes.
41 S. High St., Suite 2400, Columbus OH 43215 614-241-2226 oacvb.org
House Bill 161 does not make changes to local regulations and in no way
eviscerates home rule. It is the position of the OACVB that regulations regarding
lodging, whether they are hotels or short-term rentals are best handled at the
local level and that local control should not be taken away for one specific
business model in our state.
House Bill 161 accomplishes the goal of collecting and remitting local taxes
ability to regulate short-term rentals.
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