The year 2008 has already brought many changes to St Barth as it assumes its new political status of an Overseas Collectivity (COM). One of these changes has been the institution of an accommodation tax of 5% on all seasonal rentals: hotels, villas, apartments, etc. The goal of this tax is to raise money to meet the budget of the COM since funding from France has greatly decreased. For the month of January, the COM has collected 580,000 €. However, President Bruno Magras is concerned that individuals who rent their villas directly to clients without the assistance of a villa rental agency may not be reporting these rentals, and, hence, not paying the required tax. Members of the COM are currently doing research in an attempt to identify any such cases. As President Magras states, "We need these taxes in order to meet the budget for the COM. It is in the interest of everybody on the island, since the more we can collect, the less risk there is of creating new taxes."