Accommodation Association of Australia CEO, Richard Munro, says Airbnb should come clean on its revenue numbers in the wake of this week’s Public Hearing as part of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into corporate tax avoidance.
“Despite repeated public questioning, Airbnb is continuing to refuse to disclose the amount of tax it pays in Australia,” Munro said.
“This is despite Airbnb saying it has more than 50,000 listings in Australia and each individual listing, on average, generates $AU7100 of revenue on an annual basis.
“This means Airbnb is generating in excess of $AU350 million in Australia each year and it appears most of this is being funnelled back to a parent company which is based in Ireland.
“If this is true, these are hardly the actions of a good corporate citizen.
“Airbnb said at the hearing that it only takes 3 per cent of revenue per ‘room’, but on its website it states: ‘we charge a 6-12 per cent guest service fee every time a reservation is booked‘.
“The accommodation industry is calling on Airbnb to clarify which figure is correct.
“It’s disappointing that platforms like Airbnb appear to be avoiding paying tax in Australia and are, therefore, free-riding on the tourism industry.
“Through our submission and attendance at the public hearing, the Accommodation Association is continuing to actively participate in this important inquiry on behalf of Australia’s tourism accommodation industry,” Munro said.
A response for comment from Airbnb was not received at the time of publication.