Representatives of the short-term rentals sector as well as of the hotel sector, are in favor of the measures recently announced by the government regarding the imposition of VAT and accommodation fee.
However, as they argue, there are some issues regarding the specific measures that have not yet been clarified, such as, for example, whether the accommodation fee, which will be paid by renters, will be paid per person, per day or per booking.
The measures refer to impose a 13% VAT to short-term rentals owners who rent out three or more properties and an accommodation fee to clients of hotels, room to let etc.
On their part, hoteliers raise the question of setting time limits, regarding the application of the accommodation fee, since, as they argue, all seasons of the year are not the same for the tourism industry.
The pending issues are expected to be clarified in the dialogue that will follow between the competent bodies of the government and the representatives of the sector, reports daily ethnos.gr
“We were waiting for the measures”
In particular, and as the president of the Panhellenic Association of Property Managers (consisting of short-term rental property owners), Andreas Chiou, told ethnos.gr, the industry expected the measures to be imposed, since, after all, our country was the only one in the European Union that did not there was VAT on AirBnB.
“The measures are moving in a positive direction. We expected this development to happen, since there was also a European directive. The measures will strengthen the state’s finances, bring order to the area, but also stop the hoteliers’ pressure on the State regarding our industry, since there is nothing else that can be done. Now our sector has almost zero tax evasion and I hope that similar measures will be applied to other professional sectors, so that tax evasion can be effectively combated”, Chiou stressed.
He states that it is also positive that the measures will be applied to those who rent out three or more properties, with the result that it will actually affect owners who have a sufficient amount of income.
“Currently, 168,819 properties are offered for short-term rental in the country. Of these approximately 27,000 properties belong to 5,200 natural persons and the remaining approximately 141,000 to 102,000 natural persons. Three or more properties offered for short-term rental are owned by approximately 7,500 natural persons, the vast majority of whom, however, have already set up companies and are therefore already taxed. This means that in practice there are no big differences. The accommodation fee, for which we are awaiting clarification, whether it will be paid per person, per reservation or per day, could also be collected through the AirBnB platform and attributed directly to the state”, Chiou added.
Hoteliers: We have been asking for it for 5-6 years
The hotel sector is also in agreement with the measures, with the president of their pan-Hellenic federation, Grigoris Tassios, telling ethnos.gr that this is the implementation of their own requests for five to six years.
He also notes that the hoteliers will be present in the dialogue that will follow on the issue, requesting in some areas to establish time limits on the implementation of the measures.
“Since 2016 we have been saying that the accommodation tax should either be abolished or made remunerative so that the local government can proceed with projects. We agree with the accommodation fee. It helps to create any relief, but it has no proportionality. Not all regions are the same, not all months are the same. It is, however, a fact that a new class is entering”, Tassios emphasized.
source: ethnos.gr