GST on Short Term Rentals - Non-Resident Owners

Question

 Someone is offering short-term holiday rental via booking.com (e.g. 4 days at a time). They are not NZ tax residents. (US ones) They will be under $60 k turnover. This will only be for a few months a year. Can they register for GST and do they have to? Is this like the inbound tour operators situation?

Answer

 As the turnover is less than $60,000 the GST registration threshold has not been reached so there is no requirement to register for GST. However, if they so wish they are able to register for GST, but their compliance costs will go up and probably outweigh any benefit.