Inspectors from Greece’s tax bureau have reportedly detected more than 20,000 properties in the country listed on the world’s foremost short-term lease platform, Airbnb, which however, have not been registered on an electronic registry maintained by the agency in order to collect taxes on whatever revenue generated from leasing.
At least 130 property owners have also been detected with undeclared revenue from such short-term leasing, according to the Independent Public Revenues Authority.
Greek tax authorities are reportedly using “web scraping” to scan Airbnb’s vast platform to locate properties in the country not listed on the e-register, which was made mandatory by a law passed in 2017. Similar scrutiny of other competitor platforms, such as Booking.com and HomeAway, are pending.
To date, more than 70,000 properties in the country have been registered as short-term lease dwellings. The fine for non-registry can be as high as 5,000 euros.
