A maxi-seizure worth almost 780 million euros.
It is the one carried out by the Milan Financial Police against Airbnb Ireland Unlimited Company, owner of the short-term rental platform of the same name, and three former managers of the US group between 2017 and 2021.
The Prosecutor's Office contests the crime of tax fraud: the company would not have paid the flat tax on the fees, which amount to almost 4 billion euros.
The execution of the precautionary measure, signed by investigating judge Angela Minerva, comes at the end of the investigations conducted by prosecutors Giovanni Polizzi, Cristiana Roveda and Giancarla Serafini.
According to the investigations, Airbnb in Italy «did not comply with the obligations introduced by the 2017 law, avoiding - as stated in a note from the Prosecutor Marcello Viola - the declaration and payment (as withholding agent) of withholdings for an amount equal to to the amount seized and calculated at 21 percent on short-term rental fees of 3,711,685,297 euros paid in the period 2017-2021 by guests of the accommodation facilities advertised by the platform, based on the bookings made".
In essence, out of the billion-dollar sum confiscated from the rents, the company would have paid the owners of the properties (the so-called hosts) the amount paid by the tenants "net of the commission charged for the use of the relevant digital infrastructure", but failing to pay the accounts with the Italian tax authorities for the years January 2019-January 2023.
(Unioneonline/(lf)