SETE submitted its proposals for the improvement of the institutional framework for the operation of the short-term rental market today, in a letter sent to the Akis Skertsos, Minister of State Vasilis Kikilias, Minister of Tourism and Theodore Skylakakis, Deputy Minister of Finance.
Aiming, as emphasized, the need to protect the quality of the country's tourism product, the need to address the problem of finding accommodation, which has taken huge dimensions in many areas of the country, the protection of legitimate tourism businesses from unfair competition, which in many cases exist, as many illegal accommodation establishments operate «under the cloak» of short-term rentals, and the increase in the revenues of the State, the Insurance Funds and the Municipalities, with a view to a more equitable distribution of the respective obligations to legitimate businesses and citizens, SETE proposes the following:
Apartment blocks: it is proposed to provide explicitly that if all the apartments of an apartment block or residential complex are rented out on short-term leases, then it is considered tourist accommodation, which should be licensed accordingly (see the relevant first article, paragraph 2.2. of the proposal).
VAT: It is proposed that the VAT exemption of the rent received be limited only if the income beneficiary is a natural person and has registered up to two (2) properties in the AADE's platform in the VAT registration number. (of which one of the two properties must be registered as a property in which he/she is an owner-occupier). Otherwise, as well as in any case where the income beneficiary is a legal entity, then VAT will be imposed on the rent received (see the relevant first article, paragraph 3a. of the proposal).
Tax withholding: It is proposed to provide for the obligation of each digital platform to withhold 5% tax on the total price of the short-term rental, which it will then pay to the State (see relevant second article of the proposal).
Maximum number of properties that can be rented out on a short-term basis per municipality: It is proposed to give the right to the first-tier local authorities to determine, following a decision of their Municipal Council, which will be justified on the basis of a relevant scientific study, the maximum number of properties that can be entered in the Register of Short Term Rentals for the area within their boundaries.
Imposition of a municipal tax: It is proposed that short-term leases concluded through digital platforms be subject to a tax in favour of the first-tier local authorities, equal to 0.5% of the lease price, to be used by the local authorities to cover the increased costs of cleaning, lighting, etc., caused by the operation of short-term leases.
