Farmers criticise Victoria’s new short-stay Airbnb tax

Farmers with an accommodation side hustle say a new state tax will place an unintended dampener on regional tourism.

Farmers with an accommodation side hustle say a new state tax will place an unintended dampener on regional tourism.

Now-former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last week announced a new 7.5 per cent levy on short-stay rental providers such as Airbnb.

The levy is aimed at reducing the number of suburban households rented out to holiday-makers, freeing up accommodation for low-paid workers, particularly in tourist hotspots such as the Surf Coast.

But Forge Creek Lamb owner-operator Neil Stringer says the statewide charge would hit regions, regardless of rental availability.

Mr Stringer became an Airbnb host 18 months ago and has since added a purpose-built short-stay building.

“I wasn’t surprised when this tax was announced, because it’s been mooted for a while. But I was annoyed,” he said.

“You already pay a fee with Airbnb, then there’s this 7.5 per cent charge coming our way too. We’re told ‘the customer will absorb the cost’ but that’s not necessarily the case.

“Accommodation works on the laws of supply and demand, so if costs rise to high, people stop booking your listing.”

East Gippsland MP Tim Bull said farmers like Mr Stringer used platforms like Airbnb to provide a financial buffer in the event of an agricultural commodity crunch, such as the one currently hitting the lamb and beef sectors.

“This is a case of one rule for all that doesn’t fit local circumstances,” the National Party MP said. “Farmers have established short-stay accommodation sites that were never intended for long-term rent and wouldn’t attract interest from the rental market, even if they were listed.”

In Victoria, there are more than 36,000 short stay accommodation places – with 53.3 per cent in Melbourne and 46.7 per cent in regional Victoria.

More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes.

A Victorian Government spokeswoman said the 7.5 per cent levy will be transferred to Homes Victoria to be invested in social and affordable housing

“While short stay accommodation – like Airbnb and Stayz – has become a popular feature of Victoria’s visitor economy, it’s also reduced the ability for many properties to be used for longer term accommodation or rented out on fixed term agreements,” she said.

“That’s why it makes sense that they should provide some benefit towards the places that can.

“Regional Victoria, including border towns have great nationally and internationally renowned attractions. This will not change because of a modest levy invested back into regional communities to help house more regional Victorians.

“The levy will not impact regional tourism. It applies equally across Victoria with 25 per cent of the revenue to go towards regional Victoria to pay for more and better social and affordable housing.”

Originally published as Farmers criticise Victoria’s new short-stay Airbnb tax