The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that Italy has the right to order Airbnb Inc. and other short-term rental sites to forward information from their rental contracts to tax authorities, as well as to attribute 21% of the rental income to tax authorities.
The company challenged the Italian law on short-term rentals before a national court, arguing that taxation and other rules it introduced clash with the EU principle of the freedom to provide services. The ECJ decision comes after the Italian court turned to it for judicial guidance on the interpretation of the EU law, in line with its primary jurisdiction.
In November, the EU Commission presented new rules on short-term rentals, seeking greater transparency in the process of identification and activity on online travel platforms.
