I am Mark Shay, a realtor who specializes in helping small investors find successful vacation rental investment properties in the Poconos. I have built a team of agents and our practice has thrived by supporting those who want to exercise their property rights and rent a vacation home either to cover costs, or to profit from this investment.

In 2022, along with mortgage officer Marty Nicoll we started a trade association called Poconos Association of Vacation Rental Owners, designed to give our out of town owners better representation as a key component of the tourism industry in the region. One out of three jobs in the area comes from tourism and as a measure of their impact, vacation homes generate nearly half of the hotel tax revenue the region generates.

The operation of a vacation rental now requires a license from the local municipality. Zoning regulations state wether a vacation rental is an acceptable use and local ordinance governs aspects of operations. As with any license, there is a fee and these fees are supposed to cover the cost of licensing, nothing further. Excessive licensing fees are defined as taxes. Recently Pocono Township implemented a 5X increase on the STR license fee and is touting that the money raised will go to pay for a variety of township services like police, roads and their legal fees. Taxes raise revenue, fees cover costs. In Pocono Township they have implemented a tax on the tourist industry and this tax in particular only addresses one segment of the tourism industry which is another unfairness.

The "Stop the Pocono Township STR Tax" initiative is to collect funds to cover the legal costs associated with repealing this tax. Small donations are welcome. For those who are directly affected, a contribution of $2,000 is needed to join our "Litigation Committee."