The community platform for renting specific accommodation, Airbnb, has decided to take proceedings with the Constitutional Court, through its European parent, Airbnb Ireland UC. Its justification for doing so is a Brussels order issued last December. This is reported in the newspapers L'Echo and De Tijd on Thursday. The text instigated a tax of around 3 euros per night and per room to be charged by individuals offering rental accommodation through the platform, but it is not this aspect of the order which the company has decided to challenge.
It is in fact the duty to provide information or the “reporting” obligation that Airbnb Ireland wishes to see withdrawn. The order creates the obligation for intermediaries, including Airbnb, to supply, upon request of the Brussels administration, data from each operator which is linked to it, the contact details for their various establishment(s) and the number of nights during which the property is used during the preceding year.
This duty to disclose information will enable the Brussels tax authorities to gather information relevant to tax collection. If the given intermediary does not fulfil this obligation, the region states that he or she may be subject to an administrative fine.
The Brussels Times
