Italian police seize €779 million from Airbnb over unpaid taxes, accusing the company of not paying a 21 percent withholding tax on €3.7 billion in rental revenue.
Landlords in Italy are required by law to pay a 21 percent tax on rental earnings, with the responsibility of collection lying with rental providers like Airbnb.
Airbnb claims to have been in dialogue with Italian tax authorities over the issue, expressing surprise and disappointment at the police action, and intends to fight the case in court.
The Italian law mandating home-sharing companies to withhold 21 percent tax from landlords dates back to 2017, and Airbnb's challenge through the Court of Justice of the European Union was unsuccessful.
Other American tech companies, including Meta and Netflix, are also under investigation by Italian authorities for unpaid taxes, with Netflix ordered to pay €55.8 million last year and Meta facing a probe for alleged unpaid value-added taxes of about €870 million.
Airbnb is facing scrutiny in various global markets, with several major cities imposing restrictions on short-term rentals due to local protests and incidents.
The seizure came after prosecutors in Milan accused the home-sharing company of failing to pay a 21 percent withholding tax on €3.7 billion ($3.95 billion) in rental revenue
Landlords in Italy are required by law to pay a 21 percent tax on their rental earnings, and the responsibility of collecting that tax lies with rental providers like Airbnb
According to the law, it was up to Airbnb to withhold the tax amount from the rental income of landlords and pay it to the government