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Letter to the editor: Short-term rentals are a lose-lose for ski towns

Donna Skupien
Frisco

Short-term rentals use a space to generate income. They are no different than renting an office or a hotel room, and I believe that they should be taxed at the commercial rate of 29% instead of the private home/residential rate of 7.96%.     

It is bad enough that:

  • Many short-term rentals operate under the radar and do not pay lodging taxes to the towns they operate in.
  • They take income away from local hotels.
  • They disrupt the neighborhoods in which they operate with constant turnover.
  • The towns do not limit the number of short-term rentals with an annual lottery — which would open up properties to longterm rentals for employees, including families that can not afford to buy — contributing to the employee housing shortage.
  • Short-term rentals might not affect larger towns in Colorado, but they greatly impact ski towns. Not being taxed at the commercial rate, like hotels, steals income the county could use for much needed projects. 

It appears that most short-term rentals are owned by second-home owners who think more about their pocketbooks than the good of the community they bought into. Colorado needs a senator who is willing to solve issues and not “postpone indefinitely.” I hope that residents will email Sen. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, to keep this issue moving forward: bob.gardner.senate@state.co.us.




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