Tax, Planning, Enforcement

I took three weeks off. Europe did not.Three countries moved on short-term rentals while I was away, and each one reached for a different lever.Spain went for tax.→ The Supreme Court's ruling striking down the national rental registry (NRUA) took legal effect on 8 June. Regional licences stand, the national number does not.→ Owners who paid registry fees for a registration now declared illegal still have no route to a refund.→ On 29 June the government announced its response: a decree planned for July raising VAT on tourist lets to 21%, up from an exemption or 10% today, plus regulation of seasonal and room-by-room rentals. Its last housing decree was voted down in Congress, so this one is not a done deal.Ireland went for planning.→ Cabinet approved the Short-Term Letting Bill on 16 June. From December, anyone letting for stays up to 21 nights must register with Fáilte Ireland.→ New planning permissions in cities and towns over 20,000 people will generally be refused. The housing minister is calling it the strictest law in Europe.→ The data behind it: just under 29,000 short-term lets nationally, a third of them in Dublin.Italy went for enforcement.→ No new rules. The rules landed in January, when three or more properties started meaning a mandatory VAT number.→ This summer the tax agency switched on the machinery: cross-referencing guest registrations, platform data and electronic payments, with questionnaires already landing with hosts.Three levers, one direction. The compliance bar is rising everywhere, it is just coming through different doors. Knowing which door your market uses is the job now.Full breakdown on today's episode. Link in comments.Which of these three approaches do you think actually works, and which just moves the problem?