Amidst growing calls for taxation to be imposed on Airbnb-style properties, President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, Reginald Mac Lean, argued that Airbnb’s, small guest houses, and villas should be taxed in a manner similar to hotels.

However, Co-Leader of the Airbnb Host Community for T&T and the Southern Caribbean, and founder of the Trinidad and Tobago Short Stay Association, Ruth Cumberbatch, while agreeing that some level of taxation is necessary, maintained that the model of taxation should be differently structured to reflect the sector’s realities. She shared her perspective on Talk City 91.1 FM’s Ground Report.

“We cannot the normal, say a retiree or a mom and pop who has a property under her house and decides to turn it into a short stay rental, we cannot classify, or we cannot tax that person in the same manner we would a co-operate entity.”