Andrei Shesternev

Good day, I am a New Hampshire property owner. I own a vacation home in Campton that my family uses for our own vacations and time to spend away from the city. We also operate as a short-term rental. We are renting out to help cover the significant costs of maintaining and paying off the property, allowing us to responsibly manage taxes, insurance, and upkeep while also sharing our home with visitors. I am concerned about HB?1068 because it alters statutory definitions of “hotel,” “occupancy,” “occupant,” and “operator” for purposes of taxation to expressly include short-term rentals such as private homes. Under current law, short-term rentals are treated as residential properties for tax purposes, and this bill would effectively blur the line between residential vacation homes and commercial lodging by expanding the statutory definition of taxable “hotel” and associated occupancy terms. This change would create significant uncertainty and additional administrative burden for homeowners who rent responsibly. Many owners, including myself, already pay full property taxes, state rental and meals tax and federal taxes. This bill would expand tax liability in a way that is disconnected from the nature of our use and existing tax compliance. It would also undermine the longstanding treatment of short-term rentals as residential property, effectively subjecting private homes to commercial tax definitions without clear policy justification. Vacation homes and short-term rentals support New Hampshire’s tourism economy by providing lodging alternatives and they generate important revenue for local businesses, vendors, workers, and service providers. Redefining our properties as “hotels” for tax purposes would make owning a vacation home financially unfeasible for many families, discourage continued rental activity, reduce available lodging, and negatively impact local economic activity without providing clear benefit to taxpayers. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the Committee to vote Ought Not to Pass on HB?1068. Respectfully submitted,