The last point that Whathello made was the most important.
When taxes are not paid, things turn sour in a hurry.

People who do not live in their apartments do not normally attend the yearly meeting of the residents who live there. They don't vote at these meetings, but might send a representative who "abstains". As such, they are not invested in the building, only their apartment. Residential buildings in Paris aren't set up to operate this way. Call it Communism or Socialism, whatever...

Most people who just want to go on vacation could care less about what goes on in a residential building. Most people aren't aware of what happens when the city they love cannot take care of itself.

The "taxe de sejour" is a pittance, compared to the taxes which should be paid on the undisclosed revenue coming from illegal rentals - whether you paid in cash, or not.

If visitors who stay in vacation rentals think Paris is dirty, smelly, the trains don't run on time and why don't the police do something about pickpockets and scam artists - they have only themselves to blame for contributing to the problem.

It's not so hard.. In the main, Paris among other requests, is asking owners of these apartments to pay their fair share of taxes instead of parasiting on the people who do pay the taxes. These taxes go to support the infrastructure and city services that make Paris the city it is. Less money means fewer infrastructure improvements and less money for city services.

People and entities who do not pay their "fair share" are parasites . . . pure and simply

The Senat adopted measures to control the transparency of monetary transactions on July 4. This will involve the mandatory registering of a company on the City's internet website, so that all financial transactions may be tracked. Failure to register or to comply in other ways will be punishable by variable prison terms, depending on the severity of the infraction.

On another note - concerning the Brexit - it has been reported that numerous British individuals and enterprises are considering moving to France, specifically to Paris. Since there is already a critical housing shortage for working residents, it will be interesting to see what happens regarding the short-term rental problem.

<<On another note - concerning the Brexit - it has been reported that numerous British individuals and enterprises are considering moving to France, specifically to Paris. Since there is already a critical housing shortage for working residents, it will be interesting to see what happens regarding the short-term rental problem.>>

Companies that are looking for a competitive edge are not going to relocate from London to the most over-regulated, business-hostile, environment on the continent. The French are free to pass whatever laws they want, including attempts to outlaw (not just tax or regulate, but, in reality, an attempt to ban) short-term rentals, but trying to rig the market usually ends in tears for the proponents of such moves. Discouraging short term rentals isn't going to drive business to hotels--it's going to drive visitors out of Paris. There will be lots of Parisians who say "Bravo!" to that, but its going to hurt the tourism industry, which pumps a tremendous amount of money into the French economy. For similar reasons, businesses in the City that need a Eurozone presence are more likely to relocate to Dublin or Frankfurt than Paris. The short-term rental regulations fit in perfectly with the hostile regulatory environment in France.

Ah yes, the silly myth that without regulations we would all be living in the Garden of Eden. I suppose they have stopped teaching Thomas Hobbes.

twk - guess we'll be seeing a lot less of you and your kind in Paris, then?

If you're from the US, you should know that the paltry 6% American tourists contribute to the city's coffers doesn't amount to much at all. So you all can just lose the attitude that you matter as much as you think you do.

Paris is courting the Asians, who are world-class spenders.

The City of Paris is currently in debates about how best to "relax" the rules for British corporations who wish to do business here.
Seems there's a lot of money that will be coming out of Britain into France.