Richard Moody is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia County officials are considering the imposition of a tax on short-term rentals such as Airbnb. A newly formed subcommittee on the subject held its first meeting September 24. The supervisors discussed how to proceed with creating the tax and contracting with a company that provides municipalities with resources to implement and enforce rules on short-term rentals. According to a report provided to the committee: Columbia County received 14,000 guests from May 25 through September 3, and most of the guests were from New York City; more than 360 county residents rented their homes during that time, making more than $2.5 million over the summer, or an average of $4,847 per host. Under state law, only county and city governments can impose a lodging tax on short-term rentals. The city of Hudson currently has a 4 percent lodging tax in place, which includes residential short-term rentals. The subcommittee will take a look at Dutchess County, which collects a 4 percent bed tax, and Ulster County, which signed a tax agreement with Airbnb last year, and then decide on how to proceed with imposing a similar levy in Columbia County. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.