As Pinellas County counts on tourism for a large portion of their revenue and in order to lodge the tourists, private vacation rentals are needed, we, the vacation rental owners in Pinellas County, Florida request tax relief. This tax relief is requested due to the unilateral action taken by the Pinellas County, Florida commissioners who voted on 19 March, 2020 to close all public beaches until, at earliest, 7 April, 2020. This was done against the recommendation of the Sheriff of Pinellas County and without a recommendation to do so by the Governor of Florida. Closure of the beaches during the peak tourist season has effectively rendered the property value of any vacation rental to be $0.

We request tax relief from Pinellas County Florida in the following ways:

1. That each property owner’s entire property tax bill for 2020 be adjusted to reflect this value (on a prorated percentage basis based on 2x the number of days of beach closure divided by 366 (days in 2020)) as relief for the elected commissioners of Pinellas County unilaterally devaluing our property.
2. Refunding any and all sales and use tax from March 2020 through December 2020 for each property owner. If these funds are paid by a third party (i.e. VRBO / Airbnb), then the taxes will be refunded to the property owner. If the taxes are paid directly by the property owner, they will be waived and each property owner will be allowed to submit a $0 return for the months listed above. Any taxes already paid by the property owner will be refunded.