Airbnb has concluded an agreement with the Revenue Agency to close the dispute relating to the tax investigations conducted by the Guardia di Finanza and coordinated by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office: will pay 576 million euros in relation to the fiscal years 2017 to 2021, and will not seek to recover withholding taxes from hosts for this period. «We are also continuing the constructive discussion with the authorities regarding the 2022-2023 period», says the company in a note underlining that «Italy is an important market for Airbnb.
Last month the Milan Prosecutor’s Office ordered the Financial Police to seize the sum of 779 million euros from Airbnb, guilty of having evaded the flat rent tax for years – from 2017 to 2021.
“Today’s agreement – underlines the short-term rental platform – means that we can focus on continuing our collaboration with the Italian authorities on taxes, rules for short-term rentals and sustainable tourism, for the benefit of hosts and guests. We there are thousands of hosts in Italy. Over three-quarters of them have only one listing; the typical host earned just over 3,500 euros last year. About two-thirds (59%) declared that the income made by hosting allows them to make ends meet. 15% say they work in healthcare, education or public administration. The majority of hosts on Airbnb in Italy are ordinary people who rely on the platform to supplement their family income. We hope that The agreement with the Revenue Agency and the recent regulatory changes can clarify the rules regarding short-term rentals for the years to come”. The Budget Law for 2024, in its current version, clarifies how the platforms should carry out in the future the withholding of income taxes of non-professional hosts in Italy. “We have welcomed this regulatory proposal and are preparing to comply with it by introducing a mechanism for withholding and remitting relevant hosts’ income taxes to the Revenue Agency,” Airbnb says.
The company, continues the note, «is also working to comply with Dac7, the European framework regulation on the transmission of tax data by digital platforms. These rules are designed to allow national authorities to collect the taxes owed while supporting a consistent and standardized data reporting system. We have already informed Italian hosts of how these changes will impact their business through Airbnb and will continue to ask them for the information required by Dac7 before it is shared with the Tax Authority in Ireland (where Airbnb Ireland is headquartered) in January 2024, and subsequently to the Revenue Agency”. Airbnb also welcomes progress on rules for short-term rentals, including the creation of a national registration system in Italy and the European data sharing framework. These advances will make it easier for historic centers such as Venice and Florence to understand who hosts and for how long, allowing the development of public policies proportionate to the phenomenon. The company – concludes the note – is determined to collaborate with the Italian authorities for the success of these rules”.