Tax dispute with Airbnb: judge confiscates millions
The accommodation platform Airbnb must initially pay almost 780 million euros to the tax authorities in Italy for alleged tax evasion. The public prosecutor's office in Milan is accusing the company, which specializes in the short-term rental of apartments and rooms, of failing to pay the tax due on such rentals for five years.
An investigating judge officially ordered the confiscation of the sum on Monday evening.
From 2017 to 2021, Airbnb failed to pay the 21 percent tax on income from short-term rentals. This so-called single tax on rental income was introduced in Italy in 2017. The accommodation platform filed a lawsuit against the introduction at the time. However, the European Court of Justice rejected Airbnb's arguments last December and confirmed the obligation to collect and pay the tax.
The judicial investigations began in spring 2022 following an initial tax audit of Airbnb. According to the public prosecutor's office, the turnover from the tax would have amounted to 3.7 billion euros over the five years. The accommodation platform appeared irritated after the investigating judge's order. Airbnb is in contact with the tax office. "We are confident that we have acted in accordance with the law and intend to exercise our rights," the Ansa news agency quoted the company as saying.
The current Italian government even wants to increase the standard tax rate from 21 to 26 percent in future. Its main aim is to combat the housing shortage in large cities, high rents and overcrowding caused by tourists. Many landlords prefer to offer their apartments to tourists for more money and rent out their properties via platforms such as Airbnb.
Living in Italy could become more expensive for users of the Airbnb platform, given the ongoing tax dispute. The housing policy in Italy, which aims to combat housing shortages and high rents, may be impacted by the judge's ruling that Airbnb must pay millions in unpaid taxes for failing to comply with real estate tax regulations.
Source: www.dpa.com
