Our state government is searching for a way to ensure that vacation rental owners pay the required taxes. I have a suggestion: When the bank pays me interest on my deposits, I receive a Form 1099 from the bank that discloses the amount of interest the bank paid to me. The bank also sends copies to the IRS and Hawaii tax office. The IRS and the Hawaii tax office then have the ability to match that Form 1099 with my income tax return to ensure that I am paying taxes on the interest income.

How about requiring the vacation rental hosting platforms like Airbnb to send a 1099-like form to the rental owners, along with a requirement for Airbnb to also send a copy to the Hawaii tax office? Airbnb has the information to do this. This would provide a mechanism for the Hawaii tax office to ensure all required taxes are collected.

Doug Tonokawa

Kailua

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