SB 121: Legalizing Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing

This bill passed both chambers of the legislature unanimously. Review our tracker for more information.

In Utah, peer-to-peer car sharing platforms have wrongly been regulated like rental car companies, forcing platforms and car owners into an inapplicable and burdensome regulatory framework. 

In Utah, traditional rental car companies are exempt from paying sales taxes when purchasing vehicles for their fleet because they are taxed on the back end through rental taxes. However, these rental taxes have so far been levied against ordinary vehicle owners renting out their vehicles through a peer-to-peer car sharing platform, even though they’ve been required to pay sales taxes when they purchase their vehicles.

This unnecessary double taxation in Utah is one of the remaining remnants of a longer trend of outdated regulations being used to punish vehicle owners who simply want to monetize their personal assets. The solution offered by Senator Mike McKell, Senate Bill 121, makes clear that vehicle owners using peer-to-peer car sharing platforms are not the same as rental car companies. This distinction will go a long way toward alleviating the unnecessary burdens currently placed on participating vehicle owners in the state of Utah.