Greece Revenue Body Says Short-term Rental Registry Bearing Fruit

Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) said this week that an electronic registry launched earlier this year, aimed at property owners leasing their homes for short-term accommodation via online sharing platforms, is producing data and revenue.

The AADE said that under the terms of international agreements with payment services abroad, it has been receiving data from foreign payment providers concerning the income received by taxpayers in Greece using sharing platforms for their short-term leases.

The data shared with AADE by payment systems and firms concerns the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 – complete with taxpayer’s details, VAT number, total revenue and total number of transactions for each of the these three years.

According to the data provided, the leading method of payment for such services via online payment systems is by credit card, which soared in the 2016-2017 period. Indicatively, in 2015, a total of 250,000 euros accounted for 1,000 transactions, while in 2017, 34,000 transactions generated 9.5 million euros in earnings.

The data has already been forwarded to AADE, which is in the process of cross-checking against declared income on E2 tax forms for the respective years, while at the same time monitoring the compliance of taxpayers with the new short-term rental regulations.

It is reminded that according to law for the running year, operators (individuals leasing their homes for accommodation purposes) must submit cumulative short-term rental statements per property leased following the departure of the tenant by 30 November 2018.

They are also required to submit a short-term rental statement by 20 December 2018 following a tenant’s departure in the period 1 November- 30 November 2018.

The same will also apply to properties holding the Greek National Tourism Organization sticker with inspections for transactions carried out for the 2017 period.

At the same time, Airbnb has also pledged to work with Greek authorities to ensure its users log onto the AADE registry and abide be Greek sharing economy regulations.

Earlier this year, the European Commission (EC) called on Airbnb to present proposals on its plans to harmonize certain terms and pricing policies with EU consumer legislation.