HB653: relative to the payment of the meals and rooms tax for short-term rentals.

HB 653-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2019 SESSION

19-0795

10/01

HOUSE BILL 653-FN

AN ACT relative to the payment of the meals and rooms tax for short-term rentals.

SPONSORS: Rep. Butler, Carr. 7

COMMITTEE: Ways and Means

ANALYSIS

This bill requires the business collecting the rent paid for a short-term rental through a short-term rental, home sharing Internet site or application be primarily responsible for the payment of the meals and rooms tax to the department of revenue administration.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

19-0795

10/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen

AN ACT relative to the payment of the meals and rooms tax for short-term rentals.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Meals and Rooms Tax; Definition of Operator; Short-term Rental. Amend RSA 78-A:3, IV to read as follows:

IV. "Operator" means any person operating a hotel, charging for a taxable meal, or receiving gross rental receipts, whether as owner or proprietor or lessee, sublessee, mortgagee, licensee, or otherwise. In addition, for short-term rentals, the term "operator" shall include the business collecting the rent which is acting on behalf of an operator and receiving rent paid through a short-term rental home sharing Internet site or application.

2 Short-term Rentals; Payment of Tax. Amend RSA 78-A:4-a to read as follows:

78-A:4-a [Advertisements of] Short-Term Rentals.

I. Any advertisement for a short-term rental by print, display, publication, distribution, or online listing offering a short-term rental shall include the meals and rooms license number of the operator, as defined in RSA 78-A:3, IV.

II. The operator of a short-term rental who is collecting the rent paid for an occupancy through an Internet site or application shall be primarily responsible for payment of the tax due under this chapter.

III. Violation of the provisions of this section may result in a warning from the department of revenue administration that the operator's license may be revoked, suspended, or denied. The warning shall include notification to the operator of his or her obligation to obtain a meals and rooms license and pay the meals and rooms tax under this chapter. Subsequent violations of the provisions of this section may constitute sufficient cause for revocation, suspension, or denial of license.

IV. Nothing in this section shall be construed to change or alter the nature of the use of a property for the purpose of determining compliance with a local zoning ordinance.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.

LBAO

19-0795

1/11/19

HB 653-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to the payment of the tax on meals and rooms tax for short-term rentals.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

Funding Source:

[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other

METHODOLOGY:

This bill clarifies that a person collecting rent on behalf of an operator is also considered an operator as defined in RSA 78-A, the Meals and Rooms Tax statute. The bill also requires an operator collecting rent through an Internet site or application needs to collect and remit the Meals and Rooms tax. The Department states the bill does not effectuate any substantive change to the existing Meals and Rooms Tax law, but rather clarifies the existing law particularly as it relates to Internet operators. To the extent this bill provides clarity to the Meals and Rooms Tax law and improves compliance with the law, revenues will increase.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Revenue Administration