Airbnb is to hand over almost £500million to Italian authorities to end a protracted tax dispute.
Prosecutors said Airbnb had failed to comply with a 2017 law obliging short-term rental platforms to collect 21 per cent of rental income on behalf of tax authorities.
As a result Airbnb will pay £495million, after the US company was last month accused of owing as much as £672million in short-term rental taxes.
Authorities had threatened to seize the funds from the company. Airbnb will not attempt to recover any money from its hosts and is working on new ways for hosts to have their taxes paid to the authorities directly.
Airbnb said: ‘The vast majority of hosts on Airbnb in Italy are ordinary families that are using the platform for supplemental income.
Prosecutors said Airbnb had failed to comply with a 2017 law obliging short-term rental platforms to collect 21% of landlords’ rental income for tax
‘We hope the agreement with the Italian Revenue Agency and recent legislative changes in Italy will provide these families with certainty about the rules around hosting.’
In the past, Italian prosecutors have recovered hundreds of millions of pounds from US tech behemoths including Google in 2017 and Apple.
It comes amid widespread concerns over businesses like Airbnb, as permanent housing has become more unaffordable for local residents.
Florence this year banned new Airbnb listings while tourist beds in Venice exceed the number of long-term residents.
Airbnb is based in California, and was founded in 2008 as a marketplace for short and long-term holiday lets and charges a commission from each booking.
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