#Summit County #Colorado
Founding Father Benjamin Franklin once wrote that nothing is certain “except death and taxes.” But if it’s a private company and not the government that’s doing the tax collection, how certain are we about those taxes? How do we know the company is charging the right amount of tax? And how do we know that the taxes the company collects will go to the right place?
These are questions being raised in Summit County about how Airbnb and possibly other short-term lodging companies are collecting and remitting taxes on behalf of the state and town governments.
A Summit Daily News investigation has found that guests for Airbnb properties in parts of unincorporated Summit County are overpaying taxes, bringing into question the tax collection and remittance arrangement between those companies and the state, and whether there is enough oversight.
Ross Quade, owner of a short-term rental property in the Dillon Valley East condominiums in unincorporated Summit County, recently raised the issue with the Summit Daily and county government. In an email, Quade claimed Airbnb guests booking his unit and other units in the Dillon Valley area in unincorporated Summit County were being charged sales and lodging taxes from the town of Dillon, which he called “theft and illegal.”
“This is amounting to higher costs to renters and vacationers in the hundreds and thousands of dollars of illegal remittances to local towns that are actually in unincorporated districts and not required to have guests pay these sales and lodging taxes,” Quade wrote.
Quade also pointed out language on the short-term rental FAQ page on the town of Dillon’s website that named specific areas that were not subject to town tax collection, even if they are in the same zip code as the town:
“The subdivisions of Dillon Valley, Keystone, Summerwood or Summit Cove are NOT in the Town of Dillon. They are in unincorporated Summit County and you should contact their offices for information regarding short term rentals.”
The arrangement for Airbnb to collect taxes on behalf of the town of Dillon began Jan. 1. The town website directs anyone who wants to verify the jurisdiction of their property to visit Summit County’s geographical information system mapping website at gis.summitcountyco.gov/map
Summit County Finance Director Marty Ferris said she, too, was made aware of the problem earlier this week. Ferris said, unlike the towns, Summit County government does not have a direct line to Airbnb to resolve issues like this. The arrangement for Airbnb to collect and remit taxes on the state’s behalf, she said, was between the Colorado Department of Revenue and the company. She added that booking company VRBO also had made a similar agreement with the state and will start collecting taxes this year.
