Article 66, which proposed a Home Rule petition to levy a 6% room occupancy tax on the rental of private homes on Nantucket, failed to garner enough votes to pass at the second night of Annual Town Meeting. We spoke in opposition to the article because we do not believe that renting a private home is the same as staying in a commercial establishment such as a hotel, in or guest house. When we stay at a commercial establishment we have the assurance that the facility has proper fire and safety equipment, that it has been inspected by the authorities and that there are certain health and code standards that must be met. This is not the case with private homes (as we all know). We also felt the article was flawed in that there was no mechanism for the monitoring and collecting of the tax. It was entirely based on the honor system. This issue will no doubt be back in the future, when requisite two years have passed before proponents can bring it up again.
