Half Moon Bay TOT taxes

[Chris46]

Half Moon Bay recently hired a company, HdL Companies to collect past TOT taxes from Airbnb hosts. The company wrote an ordinance for the city in April of 2018, and is now using dishonest and bullying tactics to try to collect back taxes (to 2015) from hosts.  They will not say how they obtained our information.  I have researched, and the same company has plundered through Mountain View and San Mateo trying to get people to pay for business licenses for making business calls out of their homes or selling on ebay.    This company is threatening to put a lein on my home.  They are also behind the cannibis initiatives.  Their purpose is to write policies for cities, not to help the citizens, but for their own finanical gain.

I believe they should be talking to Airbnb to pay the TOT tax.  I have contacted Airbnb numerous times about how they determine what cities they collect TOT taxes from, and have been ignored.  

I am planning on fighting these tactics at the city council level and I am looking for other Half Moon Bay residents who may have been targeted.  I feel they are trying to regulate and eventually outlaw Airbnb so that they can continue with their plans for the massive hotels, besides the ones already built.

[Linda108]

@Chris46  I think the best use of your energy is with the City Council, not Air BNB.  If the City sanctions the tactics of this company, then you need to address that issue.  It is my understanding that Air BNB will contract with willing cities, states or counties seeking for Air BNB to collect taxes, but Air BNB doesn't do this without an agreement.  My city had a contract with Air BNB but after two months, the City recinded the contract as the individual host was not identified in the lump sum payment.  Good luck.  BTW, my City also uses a company to find unregistered hosts and takes steps to collect registration fees.  This company "data mines" multiple sites.

[Chris46]

Thanks, Linda, it is good to know that Airbnb will contract with willing cities, this is a piece of the puzzle that I have not been able to garner from Airbnb.

I don't want the city to know my personal business.  Using a company to "data mine"  is an invasion of privacy from my point of view, and no different from peering into my windows!  I am searching to see the legality of making threats based on a combination online spying and conjecture.  I am going to find out if my city is more interested in collecting the TOT tax or keeping tabs on the residents in order to restrict business.  (They are putting up hotels like we're a Monopoly board)

Is the company your city uses HdL (Hinderliter, de Llamas and Associates) that mines data?  I have read with interest how other cities like Mountain View have pushed back against them after they did things like send out questionnaires about how many business calls residents made at home, and then trying to slap them with 4 years of back business licences, and going after people who sell stuff on ebay.  Their letters are misleading, dishonest, and bullying.  Like the city hired the mafia.

Anyway, thanks.  Just out of curiosity, what is the leveling in Airbnb...  I see you're a ten and I'm a two, haha, I better start climbing....

[Gi-Angelo0]

Hi @Chris46 ,

I am a new Half moon bay host, we just launched for about a week, and we were contacted by the city of half moon bay saying we were running it illegally.

We are new to the city, when we were doing research online regarding short-term rental rules in half moon bay, we couldn't find a lot of information, and we contacted the city of half moon bay to inquire more information just make sure we run everything legally. We thought we got everything, and compliant with all the rules, but in the end, the city of HMB told us we contacted the WRONG department. Would you mind that we exchange contact as I would like to hear your experience with dealing with the city regarding this matter?

Sincerely,

Sharon

[Chris46]

Hi Sharon,

I have no idea why your listing should be illegal.  Half Moon Bay reached an agreement with Airbnb in May as far as collecting TOT taxes on Airbnb rentals, I don't know what other problems they have with listings outside of trying to get even more money.

I'm still pushing back on the 12K lien they placed on my home (about a quarter of the earnings I made over two years) during the period the City couldn't decide if they wanted to reach an agreement with Airbnb or not.  Now that they have reached an agreement, I thought everything else was hunky dory, but apparently not.

Is this letter actually from the City of Half Moon Bay?  Or is it from HdL, a company Half Moon Bay contracts to skim money off the top? Or another company?   Did the letter state what the illegality was?  How did they get your name or your listing? I would be interested to know since I am scheduled to address the city council on August 20 regarding my own problems with them.

Chris