Airbnb and the government of Quebec came to an agreement that will allow the home-rental website to collect and remit the provincial tax on behalf of its hosts.
On October 1st, 2017, Airbnb will begin automatically including the 3.5 per cent tax.
A “defining moment for Airbnb in Canada”
“The agreement announced today is a positive step toward the future and development of tourism in Quebec, since it will make it possible to adapt the taxation system to the new collaborative and digital economy,” the province’s tourism minister, Julie Boulet, said in a statement.
Currently, there are more than 22,000 Airbnb hosts across the mainly French-speaking province, accommodating guests an average of 38 nights per year.
Boulet said the agreement was reached in an effort to address the concerns of the hotel industry, who protested that Airbnb was not operating legally by not paying the lodging tax.
Airbnb’s public policy manager for Canada, Alex Dagg described the “landmark” agreement as a “defining moment for Airbnb in Canada.”
In a statement, he said, “The agreement in Quebec is an example of how Airbnb and government officials can work together as partners.”
If this agreement had existed last year, the Quebec government would have collected $3.7 million in taxes for 2016.
Last year a provincial law that went into effect that obliged hosts to obtain a permit and pay a hotel tax, but the majority of hosts did not comply.
That law will be modified in keeping with this new agreement.
With files from CBC
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