European Court of Justice: EU law does not prevent municipalities from requesting fiscal data from platforms

On 27 April, the European Court of Justice rejected a case brought by Airbnb Ireland against Belgian regional legislation requiring it to provide information to tax authorities on tourist transactions.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that requiring providers of property intermediation services and, in particular, operators of an electronic accommodation platform, to transmit to tax authorities certain particulars of tourist transactions was not contrary to European Union law. The ruling concluded that – because it was of a fiscal nature – the requirement was excluded from the scope of the EU directive on electronic commerce.

HOTREC welcomes the ECJ’s verdict insofar as it brings in a crucial confirmation that requiring platforms to share tax data with relevant authorities does not hinder the freedom of movement of services to the extent that it covers all providers of property intermediation services, irrespective of their place of establishment and the manner in which they mediate.

Following the judgment, the case will now return to the Belgian Constitutional Court.