A senior minister has hit back at Airbnb claims that Victoria is triple-taxing holidays and hurting tourism, insisting a new levy on short-stay rentals will help attract more workers to the regions.
Airbnb ran full-page advertisements in Victorian newspapers on Tuesday claiming the new state levy will hurt tourism and drive up travel costs for families.
"The Victorian Government wants to triple tax your holiday. What's next?" the campaign, printed in The Age and Herald Sun, said.
The state government last week introduced an Australian-first levy to Victorian parliament - a 7.5 per cent charge on short-stay accommodation bookings, including for platforms Airbnb and Stayz.
Revenue raised from the levy will be used to support social and affordable housing, with the policy aimed at making more properties available as long-term rentals.
Airbnb said it supported one guest levy but it was "unfair" accommodation would be subjected to a new levy in addition to new GST taxes and local government surcharges.
But Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas denied the levy would hurt tourism and said it was "absolutely not" a tax grab.
The regional MP, whose electorate includes popular holiday town Daylesford, said the levy would help boost housing options as many workers were struggling to find affordable rentals in the regions.
"One of the greatest challenges to tourism in Victoria is having the available workforce and the reason we don't have an available workforce is because there are no affordable rentals for workers," she told reporters on Tuesday.
"This strikes the right balance in ensuring that we have accommodation available for workers, including those in destination towns."
Airbnb Australia and New Zealand public policy head Michael Crosby said the reforms would undermine the economic benefits that come from short stay rentals.
"A 7.5 percent levy, in addition to the potential for more council-led fees and restrictions on the number of nights owners can host, will jeopardise the ability for Victoria to attract tourists to areas lacking traditional accommodation, and penalise families looking to travel as cost-of-living pressures continue to bite," he said.
Opposition leader John Pesutto said the levy would hurt businesses and families.
"The only thing that will help our workforce, such as health and education workers, is to have more homes built and that's not going to be aided by the imposition of a new tax," he said.
Other rental reforms under the legislation include powers for councils to cap the total of days a property can be listed or the number of short-stay properties in their area.
Owner corporations will also be allowed to ban short-stays in their buildings with a 75 per cent vote.
The levy will only apply to stays of fewer than 28 days.
Hotels, motels, caravan parks and individuals leasing out part of their principal residence are exempt from the changes, which will apply to bookings made from January 1, 2025.
RMIT University urban planning expert Dr Liam Davies said the reforms would be positive at a local level, but have minimal impact on wider affordability issues.
He said it was unlikely the state's 50,000 short-stay dwellings would all shift to long-term leases.
