Travelers who are planning to go to New Jersey we got you some good news. New Jersey Mayor Steven Fulop will be offering legislation to legalize short-term rental booked through sites like Airbnb and HomeAway, according to New York Times.
New Jersey is known as the second largest city that is more affordable and less luxurious than New York that is why a growing number of tourists have been visiting the city. According to The Real Deal, Mayor Fulop is said to be proposing a levy of 6 percent on the Jersey City's 300 short-term rentals. This rate is said to be equal to the city's hospitality tax. With the proposal he made this anticipates that the tax will soon raise around $600,000 and $1 million per year.
The mayor said in the interview that Airbnb is not going anywhere. He said, "Maybe it's my age, or my friends who love Airbnb, but it's certainly not going away." Fulop continued explaining, "You can either try and fight it and resist change, which I'm not sure is going to work, or you can try and figure it out and work together."
New Jersey is said to be following cities like San Francisco and Philadelphia who happened to be legalizing and taxing short-term rentals.
As said by New York Times, this law will allow Jersey residents to have their couch, bedroom or even the entire apartment rented out on Airbnb. They will be charged with the same 6 percent hospitality tax that is being charged on guests staying in different hotels in the city.
According to Fulop, he believes that by legalizing Airbnb, it will be easier to monitor and regulate short-term rentals. Fulop said, "We need to work with Airbnb, not against them." He added, "After all, look at what technology did to the music industry and the taxi industry."
Fortune reported that the law is expected to be approved by November.
