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Sullivan County staff warn state changes to short‑term rental reporting could reduce tax collections
Summary
County staff told the Office of Management and Budget Committee that new state reporting expectations for short‑term rentals (STRs) may prompt platforms or vendors to stop sharing transaction-level data, complicating collection of room and sales taxes from private STR hosts.
Nancy Buck, a staff member in Sullivan County government, told the Office of Management and Budget Committee that forthcoming state changes to short‑term rental reporting could reduce the county’s ability to identify and collect taxes from private hosts.
"They're sort of threatening not to continue that," Buck said of Airbnb and VRBO, describing industry resistance to state-mandated reporting of who paid monies. She said the county currently receives bed‑tax collections from hotels, motels and bed‑and‑breakfasts but not from single‑family homes that operate as STRs.
Why it matters: County staff rely on vendor reporting and a third‑party vendor, Deckard, to locate unregistered STRs. Buck said Deckard has built the state‑requested reporting format and the county plans a mass mailing to addresses the vendor identified. But she warned that if platforms refuse to share the transaction‑level information the state wants, “it’s gonna be hard to educate all these people that they need to collect sales tax.”
Staff and vendors: Buck said her office and a vendor already collect room tax for registered lodging. "Airbnb for at least 5 years with NYSAC has promoted that they would like the law to change," she said, adding the platforms’ principal concern is reporting, not collection. Buck also said the county’s current vendor can generate the state’s requested reports if needed.
Public and enforcement limits: Committee members and staff noted enforcement challenges if platforms stop providing data and if individual hosts do not register as businesses. "If they don't register as a business ... they're not gonna collect sales tax because they don't have a middle person doing it for them," one committee member said. Buck cautioned the law was not fully finalized and enforcement mechanisms may be limited.
Next steps: Buck said staff planned to monitor a New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) webinar and continue outreach. She described the issue as ongoing and said the county will follow state guidance on whether to adopt the vendor’s reporting or other options.
Ending: Committee members flagged the topic for continued monitoring as the state finalizes reporting rules and county staff work with vendors and the public to improve registration and collection.
