The government and the majority are divided on short-term rentals: in the Maneuver, the increase in tax rates rises from 21% to 26% for tourist rentals managed through intermediaries or digital portals (such as Airbnb).
Operators in the sector are on a war footing, while the Court of Auditors warns of the possible increase in tax evasion. Parts of the majority distance themselves and ask for changes.
Maneuver, short-term rentals towards a review
“The difference in tax regime could have a negative impact by encouraging the phenomenon of undeclared short-term rentals”, observe the accounting magistrates. Translation: more black and less revenue for the treasury.
In 2024, the entities that manage the online portals paid withholding taxes of 956 million euros (with a rate of 21%), and 90% of the owners are expected to continue to use these platforms. The overall balance, according to the technical report, will be positive in the three-year period 2026-2028 (around 193 million), but with a negative impact already in 2026 of almost 48 million.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti claims the measure as an attempt to rebalance the market drugged by the boom in tourist rentals:
We intervened on the flat rate tax that Airbnb manages and we don’t believe we have harmed anyone who has to live in their home. But we need to reflect on the fact that over the years the system has produced a relative advantage in renting to tourists rather than to less wealthy families or to those looking for a residence. This is a fact. Are there other solutions? Well, we are available to evaluate them.
The Government did not expect such a fuss: the initial rationale was to create a disincentive that would push at least a fraction of homeowners to opt for traditional rentals, so as to allocate thousands of properties to Italian families and not to tourists.
In several cities with a lower tourist vocation, flat rate taxation of 26% can actually make it more convenient to move from a short-term rental to a long-term rental.
Forzista deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani has already announced amendments:
Stop tax increases on short-term rentals.
Northern League deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini also distanced himself from his party colleague Giorgetti:
The law will be canceled in Parliament (but) if someone has fifty houses they can pay a little more.
Noi Moderati’s proposal on short-term rentals
And in the meantime some alternatives are popping up: Maurizio Lupi, leader of Noi Moderati, suggests reducing the coupon on long-term rent-free rentals to 15%, leaving the 10% coupon for agreed rentals unchanged, and bringing the coupon on short-term rentals to 26%:
The objective is to encourage owners to rent out their homes on a long-term basis, so as to provide answers to the many Italians who, especially in large cities, have difficulty finding a home due to high rents. We will present an amendment, let’s discuss it without prejudice.
The alarm from Confedilizia and Airbnb
Confeditore expressed “strong opposition” to the increase in the tax rate, judging it “a wrong intervention which does not solve the problem of housing supply but affects those who rent regularly”.
Airbnb echoes the concerns of the Court of Auditors: “Tax tightening risks reducing revenue for the treasury by favoring the black economy and discouraging legal rentals.”
