Buried in the depths of the executive budget unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul last week there’s a proposal designed to close some short-term vacation rental tax loopholes — such as the “bungalow rule,” which allows some units without typical amenities to skirt sales taxes — and ensure that all STR platforms collect and remit state taxes on behalf of STR owners.

These measures have been proposed over the years, despite opposition from STR groups. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo included a similar proposal in his 2021 budget, only for it to be scrapped before the final budget was passed.

The state Legislature should move these measures forward. They are common sense tweaks that could make taxes easier for the average STR owner. They could also generate upward of $16 million in new revenue for the state, according to a memo from Hochul’s office on the proposal.

Hotel owners have pointed to STR platforms’ lax or piecemeal tax requirements in some areas as evidence that there is no longer a level playing field in the hospitality industry. This became a point of contention a few years ago as the Lake Placid Village Board of Trustees and North Elba Town Council crafted STR regulations. After all, if some STR owners pay fewer taxes, the price of STR units can be kept lower than the price of a hotel room and still yield plenty of revenue for the owner.

To be clear, STR owners do pay taxes. In Essex County, local, county and school taxes and occupancy taxes are collected on STRs, according to the Essex County Treasurer’s Office. But STR platforms such as Airbnb don’t collect sales taxes on behalf of its hosts. STR owners have to collect the sales tax, making it more complicated for the average STR owner.

This bill, Hochul notes, would require vacation rental marketplace providers to collect sales tax on the STRs, easing the tax compliance burden on rental owners.

If this proposal is adopted as is, these changes would take effect immediately and apply to rent received or collected by either an STR owner or an STR platform after Aug. 31.

The state Legislature should not only ensure that these measures remain in the final budget, but go further.

Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, has proposed a bill that would create a statewide STR registry managed by the state Department of State. In villages such as Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, and towns such as North Elba and Wilmington, there are already STR registries because of permit requirements. Those registries wouldn’t go away; they would be integrated into the broader statewide database.

Hinchey’s bill would also impose new state guidelines on STRs and provide municipalities with data and monthly reports that could help local boards craft their own regulations.

Hinchey’s bill strikes the right balance between state and local. It wouldn’t impose occupancy caps or ban non-owner-occupied rentals, instead leaving that choice up to local lawmakers, who know their own communities’ needs better.

In communities such as Lake Placid, where the vacation rental industry has curbed the availability of long-term housing to such a degree that the character of entire neighborhoods were changed, local lawmakers were left to craft legislation that is now a model for other municipalities.

The state Legislature is late, but better late than never.