Airbnb agrees 576-mn-euro deal in Italy tax dispute

Short-term rental platform Airbnb said Wednesday it has agreed to pay Italy’s tax agency 576 million euros ($621 million) following allegations of tax evasion.

Italy’s financial police seized over 779 million euros from the online accommodation service last month on the order of Milan prosecutors, who accused the site of having failed to collect a rental income tax from landlords in the period from 2017 to 2021.

“Airbnb Ireland has finalised a settlement” which “covers host withholdings during the 2017 to 2021 period, for an aggregate payment of 576 million euros. We are not seeking to recover any of this sum from our hosts,” the company said.

“We are continuing our constructive engagement with the Italian authorities for 2022 and 2023,” it added.

Airbnb use has grown dramatically in recent years across the world, with the US-based platform allowing users to find accommodation in a private home rather than a hotel.

The company said in November that it has challenged a 2017 Italian law which requires short-term rental platforms which process payments to withhold host income tax.

In Wednesday’s statement, Airbnb said the Italian government’s recent budget plans clarify how this process should work.

“We welcome the clarity offered by this planned update to Italian law and are preparing to comply by introducing new tools for applicable hosts to have their taxes withheld automatically by Airbnb, and paid to the Italian Revenue Agency on their behalf directly,” it said.

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)