Bern can collect visitor's tax from booking platforms in the future
In the city of Bern, guests who have booked their accommodations through platforms such as Airbnb will also be required to pay tourist taxes in the future. On Thursday, the city council approved a partial revision of the city’s overnight stay tax regulations.
International providers and booking platforms such as Airbnb are spreading rapidly in Switzerland. The hotel industry in particular is demanding
equal conditions for all accommodations. Therefore, the cantonal lodging tax and the communal overnight tax should also be collected from private hosts without any gaps.
Due to the current regulations, it is not possible in the city of Bernderzeit to claim the tourist tax directly from a booking platform such as Airbnb. Such providers are not accommodation establishments in the true sense.
In order for the city to have this possibility in the future, there needs to be a possibility for delegation of authority. This should enable the municipal council
if necessary, to transfer the enforcement of the regulations on overnight accommodation tax in whole or in part to third parties by means of an ordinance.
The specific authorization to collect the accommodation tax from providers such as Airbnb should then take place by means of an agreement based on the ordinance.
Zug agreement with Airbnb
The canton of Zug has already concluded such an agreement with Airbnb. In the canton of Fribourg, it is also available in principle, but has not yet been signed.
Last fall, the Bernese cantonal parliament passed a corresponding revision of the law, which is expected to come into force in summer 2018. In order for the city of Bern to be able to collect the overnight tax together with the cantonal lodging tax, an amendment to the city's regulations was sought for the same date.
The Bern City Parliament waived a second reading. The bill was largely uncontroversial and was approved by 61 votes to 1 with 2 abstentions. (SDA)
