Airbnb-style leasing tax is still pending
A law passed two months ago to regulate the taxation of apartments and houses leased to tourists through online platforms like Airbnb has yet to be put into effect, as the government delays implementation due to objections from certain cabinet members.
According to the chief of the Greek Tourism Confederation, Andreas Andreadis, the government has not yet created a register of owners who rent out up to two properties for a maximum of 60 days a year in areas that are not popular with tourists and 90 days in cities and major tourist destinations. This register should have existed already, but the joint decree by the ministries of Finance and Tourism is nevertheless still pending.
The head of the association representing these property owners, Giorgos Kanellopoulos, says that while leasings so far this year are double what they were last year, particularly in Athens, “it is not clear what will happen in terms of taxation.”
Cabinet members are not alone in raising doubts about the regulation, as they echo the country’s creditors. At core of the problem is the question of who will pay the 80 million euros within 2017 that the government has promised creditors will come from the accommodation tax on hotels. Hoteliers insist that part of it should come from Airbnb-style lodgings.
