Earlier this month, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation to tax and regulate short term rentals. The House bill would create a tiered tax system, include a variety of specific regulatory requirements, and provide cities and towns the discretion to limit the duration of rentals. The Senate version of the bill would create a uniform tax on all rentals and would allow cities and towns to decide how to regulate short-term rentals.
Since these bills have major differences, a conference committee consisting of three members from each chamber will need to be appointed to reconcile the differences and agree on a final bill to send to Governor Baker. Both chambers have included language that would require any platform or entity (including brokers and salespersons) to be responsible for collecting and remitting taxes if they are also collecting the rent for the owner.
The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) along with the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) have raised concerns in both chambers on the issues of private property rights and broker's obligations to collect and remit taxes, and will continue to monitor these bills. For more information, please read this article from the Commonwealth Magazine.