People aren’t exactly happy: “People are actually canceling and forgoing deposits to get away from the taxes,” says one unhappy homeowner on the oceanfront Jersey Shore. New Jersey instituted an 11.6% surcharge on home-sharing rentals in October, and rental homes that were fully booked at this point last year are still waiting for bites. Some homeowners are fighting back for their piece of the more than US$20 billion in tourism dollars that the four shore counties in New Jersey attract each year. “As person-to-person rental has become a larger part of economy, states and localities are trying to figure out, ‘How do you go about collecting the taxes that are equivalent to what hotels collect?’” one tax analyst asks. Indeed. —Barbara Bohn
Japan’s push for Integrated Resorts: Integrated resorts (or IR) are an attempt in Japan to boost Japan’s tourism and open the county to casino gaming. But most action on the IR front right now is in the so-called regional sector, areas that have been losing population and relevance as economic power becomes more concentrated in major urban centers, according to Forbes. Last month, Wakayama, east of Osaka, hosted 300 people for an IR forum. Government plans call for Wakayama’s IR to have 2,500 guest rooms plus convention and exhibition facilities and cost about US$2.5 billion to develop. It’s also widely assumed that Osaka will win an IR license, following its successful bid for the 2025 World Expo. With just three IR licenses on offer nationally, skeptics doubt Japan would award two to the same region. —Chloe Riley
Is MGM eyeing an acquisition? The gaming company’s results were hurt last year by a boxing fight cancellation and a relatively sluggish Las Vegas convention calendar. In addition, things haven’t been so hot at MGM’s newest Macau casino, which opened in February 2018. Pay particular attention to any real estate transaction, writes Barron’s. While MGM Resorts stated last year that it had no interest in embarking upon a major growth plan through mergers and acquisitions, a transaction involving its real estate holdings could free up borrowing capacity, making it easier for the company to make an acquisition. MGM’s recent activity in the credit markets also suggest that the company might be contemplating an acquisition more seriously than public statements have indicated. —CR