European justice forces Airbnb to inform the Treasury about its rentals

The European justice ratified this Wednesday the obligation that concerns tourist rental platforms, such as Airbnb, to communicate to the national tax administrations the information on the transactions carried out.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based in Luxembourg, ruled in the context of a dispute between the company Airbnb Ireland and Belgium.

The Irish company had been invited to communicate to the Belgian Treasury the data on rentals made in Belgium in 2017 through its website.

Airbnb Ireland insists that it connects, in exchange for remuneration, potential tenants and tenants, professional or not, who offer accommodation.

Alleging the principle of free provision of services and the legislation on electronic commerce approved in 2000, the platform refused to communicate these data.

But this Wednesday, the court ruled that the obligation of any operator to communicate certain data on tourist accommodation establishments is “of a fiscal nature and, therefore, is outside the scope of application of the legislation on electronic commerce”.

In a message to AFP, Airbnb assured “take notes” of the determination, although he pointed out that the Belgian Constitutional Court will still have to rule.

“We have welcomed the agreement of the member states of the European Union (EU) on a common European framework for the transmission of tax information by platforms, known as ‘DAC 7’ and we look forward to its upcoming entry into force.”, indicated the company.

This will allow “greater consistency and standardization of data communication by platforms within the EU”, he assured.