New York Appellate Division Upholds Suffolk County’s Authority to Tax Short-Term Rentals

The New York Appellate Division affirmed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the Suffolk County Comptroller’s Office and declaring that the Comptroller was not prohibited from assessing hotel and motel occupancy taxes on the taxpayer’s property. The taxpayer owned a house in Ocean Beach on Fire Island that she rented to guests for minimum stays of seven days, and in 2016, the Comptroller notified her that she was required to pay hotel and motel taxes on rentals for periods less than 30 consecutive days under Suffolk County law. The court determined that the Legislature authorized Suffolk ...