Councilman Gary Okino has said his proposal to raise property tax rates for vacation rentals is a topic for discussion: "I just wanted to throw it out there," he said.

Good. In its current form, Bill 96 won't really work, but the general concept of raising rates on homes that are used as a business is worth a public airing.

The bill would require owners of bed-and-breakfast dwellings and vacation-rental homes to pay taxes figured at $12.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, by placing them in the "hotel and resort" classification. This is almost a fourfold increase from the rate paid for homes in the current "residential" classification: $3.29 per $1,000.

Naturally, the owners of the affected dwellings are livid. It's unfair, they say, because the earnings of the short-term rentals is so much lower than those of hotels and resorts. They're certainly right about that.

They're also right about another complication: B&Bs are not the same as vacation rentals. In a typical bed-and-breakfast, only a few bedrooms are used for guest accommodations, whereas the vacation rental homes are occupied exclusively by the short-term visitor and command a higher rate. It would be unjust for owners of both types to pay the same rate of taxes.

That said, the current tax structure isn't fair, either. People who are deriving significant revenue from their property should not be paying the same as homeowners who simply uses them as shelter.

Moreover, there are other homeowners using their properties for businesses who get away with paying residential tax. For example, some have shops operating out of their homes, and it would be inconsistent to have a different tax standard apply to them.

The enforcement of a more detailed tax structure would be a problem, of course. But it appears as if the city is trying to find a middle ground that would allow a modest increase in the number of these neighborhood-based visitor accommodations.

And so it would make sense that a middle ground is needed for raising tax income. Tourist traffic adds wear and tear in residential neighborhoods. If the newly proposed regulations of vacation rentals are enacted, more revenue will be needed to enforce them, too.

There should be room on O'ahu for a controlled number of unconventional guest accommodations. They exist in most tourist destinations, and demand is high.

But if the city is going to license more vacation rentals, Honolulu will need the tax base to support it.

Okino should revise Bill 96, and submit a more comprehensive and equitable tax proposal.