In the skin of information. What you need to know about the “Airbnb” tax shelter

In the skin of a giant of the tourist industry which now has a sword of Damocles above its platform in France. Airbnb is indeed in the sights of a bill tabled by a socialist deputy from the Basque country who has decided to deal a big blow to its activities, which are nevertheless flourishing. Because, unlike traditional hotel chains that are still struggling to recover from Covid-10, Airbnb recently posted the highest quarterly profits in my history.

And rentals are multiplying like hot cakes: 800,000 seasonal rentals at the end of 2021 in France, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. But this success story, from the inflatable mattress of two roommates in San Francisco to the giant of the tourism industry present in 90 countries no longer makes many people dream: furnished accommodation everywhere, accommodation nowhere, denounce more and more elected officials, communities and d ‘associations. In Paris alone, it is estimated that between 15 and 25,000 accommodation units could accommodate tenants instead of tourists.

And it is not likely to get better with the new law on thermal colanders prohibited for rental, since Airbnb is not subject to it. Many homes are therefore likely to end up on the platform.

Not a “taboo”

This bill filed against Airbnb has one objective: to remove the tax niche enjoyed by owners of furnished tourist accommodation. And if it is a socialist deputy who makes the proposal, it is because he has decided to take another majority deputy at his word, this time, Aurore Bergé. Invited in early February to a conference of the Abbé Pierre Foundation, she said that removing this tax niche “Airbnb” was not a taboo.

It must be said that almost everywhere in the world cities or countries are tightening the screws: in Amsterdam, for example, owners can no longer rent their furnished tourist accommodation for a maximum of 30 nights. The bill also provides for lowering this ceiling in France to 60 nights against 120 currently. The text could be examined next May as part of the assembly’s transpartisan weeks. It remains to be seen whether the group will succeed in bringing together a cross-partisan consensus against it, so that as the slogan says, “everyone feels at home”, but above all so that everyone has a home…