Denmark: Airbnb has agreed to send information about its homeowners in Denmark to the country’s tax authorities, in order to ensure that they collect their fair due.
The agreement was reached after a deal was struck between Danish lawmakers this week. Under said agreement, the laws affecting the home-sharing platform will come into effect from the week commencing 1 July 2019.
Denmark’s taxation ministry said in a statement: “Airbnb will share information about Danish homeowners’ revenues with tax authorities as of 1 July 1 2019. As of 2021, the reporting will be done automatically.”
Income taxes are deducted at the source in Denmark. The information that is shared with Airbnb will only concern tax details and no other information relating to the users’ unique profile.
A tax ministry spokesman told AFP in France that it was the first deal reached between Airbnb and a country’s tax authorities.
According to VisitDenmark figures, up to a million people stayed in an Airbnb residence in Denmark in 2018. Meanwhile, some 39,000 homes were listed on the site last year.
Airbnb’s head of Northern European operations, Hadi Moussa, said: “The new rules will ensure that ordinary Danes can continue to benefit from tourism to Denmark and that the government can get its share of the economic boost provided by tourism.”
In recent months, Airbnb has faced accusations of perpetuating global housing crises by fuelling rent increases and pushing out tenants, and it has also been criticised by the hotel industry. The company is currently facing a number of high-profile legal battles in countries across the world.
In France this year, Airbnb was told it may face a fine of up 12.5 million euros for listing 1,000 homes on its site that had not been officially registered with the city of Paris.
Likewise, authorities in cities such as Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Dublin have all either announced or adopted measures to regulate short-term rentals through the Airbnb platform.
