PORTLAND — Portland’s revenue bureau ordered short-term rental company VRBO to pay $343,000 and to begin collecting taxes on behalf of users who rent out Portland rooms through the service. The city said it counted 347 Portland listings on VRBO’s website.
VRBO is a subsidiary of HomeAway, another rental company that was fined $326,500 under the same rules.
HomeAway told the city it doesn’t believe it’s obligated to collect and remit the taxes, and pushed the blame to its affiliate, HomeAway Payments, which also facilitates payments for VRBO.
Portland last year passed rules partially legalizing vacation rental services such as VRBO and its larger competitor, Airbnb. But the city’s rules require websites that facilitate payments for the rentals to also collect lodging taxes from travelers as hotels do.
