NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Tourism, Aviation and Investments Minister Chester Cooper said yesterday that the government plans to charge Value-Added Tax (VAT) on the entire cost of a vacation rental and is currently in the process of having all vacation rental properties in the country registered.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Cooper said: “Several months ago at the Exuma business Outlook I foreshadowed that the government would look to tax in a meaningful way vacation rentals. There is already an MOU with Airbnb and at the moment we are collecting VAT on the fee that a vacationer would pay. We are seeking to make an amendment so that the VAT applies to the entire amount of the vacation rental.”
He added: “We are also concerned about the breaking of the law by many persons who do vacation rentals particularly in some of the islands like Exuma, Abaco and elsewhere where they offer rental cars and boats without the relevant licenses. We are looking into that as well.”
Cooper noted that similar to hotels, the government is looking to have all vacation rental properties registered.
“That is a process currently being undertaken by the hotel licensing department under the oversight of parliamentary secretary John Pinder. This is something that has been months in the making and we are at a stage to hopefully be able to roll this out hopefully in time for the budget debate,” said Cooper.
Recent data from the Central Bank revealed that the short-term vacation rental market saw total room nights sold increase nearly 50 percent this past February compared to the same period in 2021.
According to the Central Bank, in its monthly economic and financial developments report, data provided by AirDNA for February revealed positive trends within the short term vacation rental market.
The report read: “Total room nights sold increased to 98,389 compared to 50,906 in the comparative 2021 period. In particular, occupancy rates for both the entire place and hotel comparable listings rose to 55.2 percent and 50.7 percent, respectively, vis-à-vis 43.6 percent and 38.7 percent a year earlier.
“Price indicators strengthened year-over-year, as the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel comparable listings firmed by 15.1 percent to $181.36 and for entire place listings, by 8.3 percent to $486.90.”