“The Virginia Municipal League’s position is that it is incredibly unfair to ask the residents of the Commonwealth to subsidize essential services because there are peer-to-peer vehicle rental companies who are opting out of paying their fair share.”
Virginia Municipal League – February 2020
"What They Are Saying"
- "These transactions facilitated by these third-party platforms have always been taxable in New Hampshire. This bill simply clarifies that it’s the platform that’s liable for collecting and remitting this tax.”
Carollynn Lear, Assistant Commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Revenue - "While reducing or eliminating rental car taxes would be the ideal solution, if that’s not achievable, lawmakers should reform rental car taxes to focus on the use and service at issue.”
R Street Institute: “3 Paths Forward for Rental Car Taxes" - “I question whether rental car taxes should exist, but if they are going to exist, they should be applied equally and in a revenue-neutral fashion.”
Show-Me Institute: “Is Turo a ‘Motor Vehicle Leasing Company?’” - “A taxation system that is based on the service at issue rather than other factors will help ensure mode neutrality for transportation and an equal playing field in the marketplace.”
R Street Institute: “R Sheet on Rental Car Taxes” - “Both peer-to-peer shared vehicles and commercially owned rental vehicles are currently subject to the full ten percent Motor Vehicle Rental Taxes. However, compliance within the peer-to-peer rental industry is extremely low.”
Virginia Department of Taxation (2020 Fiscal Impact Statement) - "..For taxation purposes, treat peer-to-peer vehicles like other motor vehicle rentals in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Virginia Transit Association - "Allowing certain businesses to avoid paying taxes is essentially picking winners and losers, which creates a very real threat to maintaining and promoting one of our greatest economic drivers: tourism."
Arizona Tourism & Lodging Association - “My objective in working through this issue was two-fold. To establish clear standards for insurance coverage in these three-party transactions, and to ensure all peer-to-peer platforms that receive the end customer’s money are paying applicable state taxes as the facilitating vendor.”
Ohio House Majority Leader Bill Seitz (R-30) - "If you're Hertz, we know about you. You register with us and pay your taxes. Turo is invisible to us because we don't know the names, let alone contact information, for people renting the cars... We're losing something, but it's hard to tell how much."
State of Alaska - "Municipalities have watched their funds be depleted in recent years, which is why it is imperative that the state not prevent them from collecting this revenue, particularly since it falls in line with industries already being taxed.”
Illinois Municipal League - “Just a couple years ago, legislators tackled online lodging companies like Airbnb and VRBO. Legislators and the industry ended up embracing the same taxes charged at legacy hotel companies. We hope the peer-to-peer industry acts the same way rather than expect a free ride…”
Cactus League Baseball Association - “It is the act of renting a vehicle that triggers the requirement to collect and remit the rental car surcharge, not how the rental company is established or how the reservation is made.”
Associated Industries of Florida - “The Virginia Municipal League’s position is that it is incredibly unfair to ask the residents of the Commonwealth to subsidize essential services because there are peer-to-peer vehicle rental companies who are opting out of paying their fair share.”
Virginia Municipal League - “Rental car transactions should be taxed based on how the car is used, not based on the entity whether business or personal, who owns it.”
Pegasus Institute: Innovation, Car Rentals, and Taxation - “The tax treatment of purchases by rental car companies is sound tax policy that should be celebrated – not condemned….These transactions are considered to be business-to-business, which aren’t typically taxed. In general, sales tax should be broadly applied to all final consumer transactions, but not applied to business-to-business transactions.”
National Taxpayers Union
"What Else They Are Saying"
Learn more about other peer-to-peer car rental issues, such as consumer protection and airport congestion and fees.
P2P Op-Eds, Press Releases, Etc.
Click here to learn more about peer-to-peer car rental in key states.