City Auditor: Dallas Is Missing Out By Not Collecting Tax on Short-Term Vacation Rentals

By Robert Wilonsky Mon., Aug. 15 2011 at 9:44 AM

What's the one thing Key West and Encinitas have that Dallas doesn't? Besides a tax on short-term vacation rentals.

Back in February, the city auditor in Austin, Ken Mory, took a long, hard look at hotel occupancy taxes down there and noted that folks renting out their homes to vacationers weren't paying what he believed to be their fair share. At which point, Mory called Dallas and said: Hey, y'all may want to look into this. So Dallas City Auditor Craig Kinton did. Which is why, moments ago, Kinton sent to Mayor Mike and the city council an audit on the very same subject wherein he came to the very same conclusion: "The City does not currently have processes and procedures in place that specifically address short-term vacation rentals."

In the doc you'll find on the other side, Kinton writes that Dallas really ought to be collecting hotel occupancy taxes on short-term vacation rentals -- just like, oh, Key West, Florida, for instance, or Encinitas, California, the two cities whose processes and procedures Kinton highlights in his report to council. Regardless, though, writes Kinton, the city already has the authority to collect HOTs on vacay rentals, since a hotel's defined by City Code as any building "in which members of the public obtain sleeping accommodations for consideration," including "tourist home, tourist house [or] rooming house."

Meanwhile, down in Austin, city's Board of Adjustment was looking at doing away with short-term vacation rentals altogether. But city officials want a closer look at the more than 200 properties being used as rentals first. And, hey, speaking of Craig Kinton, that reminds me: I wonder how this is going. Auditor Report on Vacation Homes

We Recommend

Thom Reznor

This can be good or bad for a state especially if they can attract lots of visitors. Thanks. weekly vacation rentals new york city

florida vacation home rental

Thanks for a great post i encourage to have my vacation in this place

florida vacation home rental

Thank you for this post and I am encourage to have my vacation in this place......

steroids

will they never stop inevnting new taxes

telavivvacationapartment

he is just having a vacation people have lots of speculations i think this person is relaxing he is already stress in his work he need to rest

Vacation Rentals

It will be a beautiful vacation for the people who are going in this kind of place,and i am one of them..nice writing...

SF Dallas

Austin wants to do away with short-term rentals altogether!? I don't see that working out, I feel like that type of business can only help the city out, I could be wrong though.

Jim Carey

Hello,Thanks for all the information. This is a very rare information that you have managed to compile and hence I highly appreciate your work and I am now looking forward to more such nice posts from your side.__________internal audit

LaceyB

kids, this is deep ellum. It used to be amazing 25 years ago. Kids, this is Uptown. See that? Don't ever act like that past 14--or you'll get whupped. Now, we're here. C'mon...they allow kids in bars here. Mentally and physically.

Jay

One day soon, Dallas will figure out how to tax flatulence. Oh happy day.......

Montemalone

Imagine if they taxed silicone!

Byter

Would that be a Flat tax?

scottindallas

you left out the period--a flat. tax

Mister_Mean

City of Dallas betters-how about this-if you all did not waste such vast quantities of tax money perusing STUPID projects like Trinity River Toll Road, suspension bridges, and over budget killer kayaking courses then maybe just maybe you could live within your means as opposed to constantly having to dun every one for more money. I can hear our city betters-“Oh we can’t do that –we are born to squander! After all we can reach into your pocket for money any time!”

scottindallas

or what about stupid projects that seek to investigate, institute and enforce a tax on 200 single family rentals. Stupid waste. We need to pick our battles. Not seek to tax a handful of people who are too small to be a blip on the radar.

Of course the stupidity of this is, who the hell "vacations" in Dallas. We get visitors, no doubt, but...Gawd this is stupid!

Alan

It's a safe assumption that the deal outlined elsewhere on this blog, giving $300,000 to a corporation planning to locate downtown, is another example of waste. The company is surely already locked into their plans, with or without public subsidy. Such subsidies are almost always after-the-fact justification for the departments that offer them. That makes them unnecessary and a giveaway of taxpayers' money.

cynical old bastard

A good exercise would be to keep track of all businesses that receive these types of payments. Then track how much money the executives of these corporations then contribute to incumbent campaign funds. And then you will understand why the payments are given.

Phelps

"Here's a way for people to be able to afford visiting Dallas. We have to close this 'loophole' IMMEDIATELY! Oh, and let's make sure that we don't allow anyone any room under the barrier to entry on making extra money, while we are at it. Everyone should have to hire a lawyer and an accountant to make $50 on a weekend."

Borborygmus

Of course it would be too simple to assume that the reason receipts are down is because the ridiculously high hotel taxes are killing corporate travel budgets. San Antonio taxes are almost as high as the room rates.