Hawaii governor David Ige has announced plans to veto a bill intended to allow online companies such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway to collect state accommodations taxes on behalf of hosts and visitors who use their services.
House Bill 1850 was passed in early May by the Hawaii State Legislature.
"We believe there could be unintended consequences of this proposed measure," Ige said in a June 27 statement. "Vacation rentals fall under the city's jurisdiction. In order for this bill to work as intended, counties must more actively enforce their own laws on vacation rentals before they claim additional tax revenues."
Illegal vacation rentals not properly registered by county and city governments has been a hot-button topic across Hawaii for years.
However, Honolulu's department of planning and permitting did increase its vacation rental inspection staff earlier this year, and a subsequent increase in violation citations has generated quite a bit of local media coverage.