Miami Herald – Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez: County’s tax deal ‘not condoning’ Airbnb

April 3, 2017
Ahead of a vote over collecting local taxes from home-sharing platform Airbnb, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is setting the record straight: The tax deal doesn’t mean the county is condoning the platform. The announcement last month that the county had reached a deal with Airbnb to collect and remit local tourist taxes was at odds with two aggressive local campaigns to stamp out illegal use of the platform in Miami and Miami Beach. Just a day after Gimenez agreed to a deal with Airbnb, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine — whose city is handing out $20,000 fines on a near-weekly basis — presented a united front against the platform at Miami City Hall. Three days later, about 70 speakers weighed in on Miami’s proposed near-ban of the platform, leading to an Airbnb filibuster that went on for 10 hours before commissioners ultimately approved the measure…
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