Digital nomads row — Cape Town mayor suggests tax on short-term rentals to protect locals
Cape Town’s problems with digital nomads are well documented – from claims of driving up rental costs to causing a shortage of accommodation, particularly in the centre of town. What is to be done? Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says one option is to put everyone on an equal footing by implementing suitable taxes on short-term rentals.
Source: Pexels.
Hill-Lewis says a process is under way to change tariffs for those operating short-term rentals, adding that there needs to be an “equal playing field” in the accommodation sector.
As reported, digital nomads occupy short term-rentals along the Atlantic Seaboard, much to the ire of residents, who feel they are being priced out of accommodation in the city as owners rent out apartments and homes to digital nomads who spend weeks working remotely.
Advocacy project Inside Airbnb reported there were about 25,816 listed rentals on the short-term rental platform by 28 December 2024, largely concentrated along the Atlantic Seaboard, in the southern suburbs and along the city’s coast.
Read the full article on Daily Maverick here.
Related
Oscars reach unprecedented demand with sold-out ads and A-list sponsors 3 Mar 2025 South Africa's new digital nomad visa - for the ultimate workcation Lizelle Ellmann van Rhyn 3 Dec 2024 Transforming guest experiences: The Flexbox business model Katja Hamilton 1 Nov 2024 Luxury hospitality bedding: The Volpes differenceVolpes 14 Oct 2024 Airbnb calls for registration in South Africa 7 Oct 2024 Tax and employment considerations for digital nomads Nivaani Moodley 19 Aug 2024 #Paris2024: How brands are using long-term sports sponsorships to build brand equity 5 Aug 2024 Navigating the buy-to-let boom: Property investment 101 16 Jul 2024
Source: Daily Maverick
Daily Maverick is a unique blend of news, information, analysis and opinion delivered from our newsrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. There are many ways to describe exactly what we do (and for the price of a cup of coffee we’re capable of talking your ears off about it), but the best way to understand the end result is to experience it. Every part of Daily Maverick is free-to-air and no payment is required, although free registration is required for a small subset of functions and pages.
Daily Maverick is run by an independently owned, private company with no affiliation to any other media group (or political party or religious organisation.) Follow Daily Maverick on Twitter at @dailymaverick.
Go to: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/
