Against Airbnb
La Presse’s Nathalie Collard inveighs against Airbnb with evidence that the erosion of the city’s rental stock continues boldly in the face of laws and limits that government is powerless to enforce. But she’s right that something needs to be done.
Ephraim 10:43 on 2022-05-02 Permalink
Revenu Quebec is in charge of the dossier… but no one is forcing them to report. Journalists, under the freedom of information act, should request information, like how many AirBnB listings have been verified to ensure that the establishment number is listed. How much in taxes have been collected? How much in fines for non-payment? Has the information been sent to the city so that they can charge them commercial property taxes? Etc. The only way to get Revenu Quebec’s attention is to have an MNA ask questions in the NA or request information under the freedom of information act.
What we really need is a requirement of Revenu Quebec to provide public and open documentation on all the portfolios that they are in charge of, so that citizens and the journalists can question what they do. Without information, we can’t actually see that they are doing their job as they should.