Chapter 2. Current tax administration approaches and limitations
21. Tax administrations which participated in the Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) project on the effective taxation of platform sellers in the sharing and gig economy, completed a survey setting out the range of approaches they are currently taking and their limitations. The survey looked at general issues around definitions; education and engagement with individual platform sellers, including special legislative simplifications; approaches to identifying platform users, including through voluntary arrangements; and legal powers to access information and their application in different scenarios. These are discussed below together with some examples provided by tax administrations.
2.1. General issues
2.1.1. Definitions
22. A number of jurisdictions use the term “sharing economy” or “collaborative economy” to cover a wide range of online platforms, while others differentiate between the sharing economy and the gig economy. The definition used in Greece is:
“The sharing economy is defined as any model where digital platforms create an open market for the temporary use of goods or services which are often provided by individuals.”1
23. In 2016 Italy had a draft proposal for a legal definition (not adopted):
“A business model based on the optimal allocation and sharing of resources such as time and space, goods and services, through on-line platforms. Platform operators act as facilitators connecting users and offer value added services.”
24. For other jurisdictions there is a mix of public definitions used in explanatory material or to inform wider strategies and public discussions. Within that, there is a further mix of those who define the activity as entirely individual-to-individual and those who include (explicitly or implicitly) businesses operating within platforms that are primarily individual-to-individual. Some jurisdictions exclude the outright sale of goods from their definitions.
The Norwegian Tax Administration uses the definition from a government appointed committee, which delivered an Official Norwegian Report on the topic early in 2017.2
The Committee used the following definition: “Sharing economy means economic activity enabled or facilitated via digital platforms that coordinate the provision of a service or the exchange of services, skills, assets, property, resources or capital without transferring ownership and primarily between private individuals.”
Further, the Committee stated: “The sharing economy has a number of defining characteristics:
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One such characteristic is that the sharing economy involves services enabled or facilitated via digital platforms. Emphasis is given to the fact that the platform facilitates the activity, rather than being the supplier of the actual service. The Committee has concentrated on commercial sharing initiatives rather than non-commercial schemes, since commercial sharing services raise more regulatory challenges than non-commercial ones.
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Another key characteristic is that ownership is not transferred. Traditional internet sales and, for example, media services delivered via electronic platforms are therefore excluded from the definition.
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A third characteristic is that economic activity primarily occurs between private individuals – referred to as peer-to-peer sharing – or between businesses and private individuals, i.e. business-to-peer sharing. This distinction is made partly because new sharing initiatives are founded on the concept of selling unutilised household resources in a market and partly because this area presents the main regulatory challenges. Service providers and lessors will therefore either be private individuals or be defined as businesses (if the activity is sufficiently large in scale), whereas demand will primarily come from private individuals.”
25. At this stage, it appears from the survey that most tax administrations are primarily looking at how to ensure effective taxation of platforms sellers who are generally not known to the tax administration and thus less likely to self-report. These platform sellers will often be individuals, including the self-employed.
2.2. Education, engagement and legislative simplifications
2.2.1. Education and engagement
26. There is some evidence which indicates that a significant proportion of platform sellers do not fully understand their potential tax liabilities nor the interaction with social security payments. For many platform sellers this will be new activity or it may be part-time or casual in nature and/or on top of existing employment.
27. In order to make platform sellers aware of their potential tax obligations, thus fostering compliance, tax administrations are undertaking a range of educational activities. The most common educational activity consists of information and guidance provided through the tax administration website, in most cases via a dedicated page.
28. Almost all participating tax administrations also report engagement with sharing and gig economy platforms on alternative ways in which the platforms can help in educating platform sellers on tax obligations. This may be by providing links to the tax administration website, maintaining information on their own website or direct communications with their users. A number of tax administrations have also engaged directly with those they know are undertaking activity through such platforms, have run targeted campaigns, including through different media, and have worked with relevant trade associations or industry bodies. Some examples are set out in the box below.
29. As yet, though, most participating tax administrations have not evaluated the effectiveness of educational programmes in the specific area of the sharing and gig economy, including which channels work best. A number of jurisdictions are recording the traffic on their own dedicated webpages as well as evaluating comments/retweets etc. on social media. As more information becomes available about how to engage with individual platform users most successfully, it would be useful to share this between tax administrations.
Tax authority websites
In Greece, after the approval of the 2017 law on the sharing economy in the accommodation sector, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) issued a decision on its website, which sets the details for the operation of the Register of Short-Term Property Lets, the procedure for submitting the Short-Term Letting Declaration, the carrying out of inspections, as well as information on tax obligations and penalties. In August 2018, the electronic applications of the Register of Short-Term Property Lets and the Short-Term Letting Declaration were put into operation. All the relevant decisions, circulars and provisions, videos/demos of the applications, FAQ and a manual for the applications are posted on the website of IAPR.
The Danish Tax Agency (SKTST) has a dedicated webpage containing online guides. These can also help people with calculating potentially taxable income from renting out property and in filling in their tax return. The website was promoted in social media campaigns in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, SKTST also engaged with some of the largest online platforms and provided the platforms with checklists and short text guides for email communication or websites. In return, the platforms have been helpful with insights to help optimise checklists and guides, e.g. the fact that information from the platforms is also requested in English. Furthermore, the Danish government has launched a portal that sharing and gig economy businesses can use to access authorities. The platform (www.challenges.dk) aims to become a national hub for “challenges” where people and businesses can contribute with suggested solutions. In 2019, SKTST will also initiate a communication campaign for the increased basic allowance on housing, boat and car rentals (see further below in the box within the section of ‘legislative simplifications’). This is aimed at increasing the awareness and understanding of the new legislation among taxpayers in Denmark.
In France, the French Tax Administration has posted guidance notes on the tax obligations of platform sellers and a summary of the content of the notes was published in several media.
In Hungary, the administration publishes leaflets, which are regularly updated, to inform platform sellers of their obligations. Information has been published on a number of platforms.
Irish Revenue has issued guidance by way of a publicly available Tax and Duty Manual on the tax treatment of income arising from the provision of short-term accommodation.
The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) provides information and guidance on its website in Spanish and English regarding the taxation of private holiday home rentals. The guidance note explains all the taxes and obligations applying to private holiday home rentals.
Campaigns and use of other media
In Italy and Japan, tutorial videos have been developed in order to provide an explanation of short-term renting contract provisions and the tax obligations for individual platform sellers.
In Australia, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has run an ongoing campaign through social media focused on the sharing economy to complement mail-outs and website information. The programme includes media releases, radio promotion for diverse audiences in seven different languages, social media, video and advertising.
In Norway, the Norwegian Tax Administration has used social media campaigns to make taxpayers aware of their tax obligations, in particular directing people to their dedicated website.
In Greece, IAPR releases announcements to the media, in order to provide information to lessors of short-term accommodation and help them to comply with their tax obligations. Greece is also using videos on YouTube to educate property owners on the registration process.
Cooperation with peer-to-peer online platforms
In Singapore, the Inland Revenue Authority has reached out to a number of sharing and gig economy platforms and relevant trade associations in Singapore to disseminate tax information to individual platform sellers to clarify tax rules. This may be done through email communications they have with their users or via links to the dedicated tax administration webpage on their respective websites.
In Italy and the Netherlands, a number of platform websites have a Q&A or a summary of relevant regulations. As well as information on tax obligations, these will also often contain other regulatory information, for example on health and safety or local legal requirements.
In Greece, IAPR has reached agreement with a number of property rental platforms for them to show the Property Registration Number on the listing page for all Greek listings. In addition, the platforms agreed to inform the lessors of Greek listings about their tax obligations and to communicate to them links to the website of IAPR, where all the relevant information is stored. Discussions with these platforms on further cooperation will continue and other platforms will be invited to join the discussions.
In Japan, the National Tax Agency cooperates with industry groups involved in the sharing economy with the aim of (i) increasing the level of compliance by individuals engaged in person-to-person transactions, and (ii) enhancing tax knowledge among individuals who are obliged to file tax returns for the first time. This cooperation involves the industry groups in providing guidance to affiliated platform providers, who in turn inform individual platform sellers, via their website and via email, of their obligation to file tax returns.
Direct engagement
In Australia the ATO has an extensive programme to write to all new ride-sharing drivers on a quarterly basis that are not registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to tell them about their obligations. (The relevant data was collected from an Australian subsidiary following agreement between the parent company and subsidiary.) Drivers that continue to drive and remain unregistered receive on-going communications from ATO and can be registered by ATO.
In Ireland, Irish Revenue have legislation requiring those providing short-term accommodation services to furnish details to Irish Revenue of payments made to customers chargeable to tax under Irish tax legislation. To encourage voluntary compliance and to assist taxpayers in meeting their obligations, Irish Revenue used this information to identify and write to approximately 12 000 taxpayers who had received income from the provision of short term lettings, as a reminder to include this income on their tax returns. The letters also provide guidance on the correct tax treatment of this income and give details on how to correct returns already made, where necessary. Additionally, Irish Revenue recently issued guidance on the tax treatment of income arising from the provision of short-term accommodation. This is published on Irish Revenue’s website, www.revenue.ie.
In the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched an online small business forum where businesses can get help and support from each other and from HMRC. It includes a web chat facility for new small businesses to provide help and support about filing and paying their taxes for the first time. HMRC have also translated VAT guidance into Chinese and promoted it via their international network.
2.2.2. Legislative simplifications
30. In addition to uncertainty around tax obligations, some platform sellers may choose not to engage with the tax system due to concerns about the formalities of registering for tax and social security purposes and complexities involved in comparison to what, for many, may be relatively low amounts obtained from sharing and gig economy activity.
31. In the light of this and also to avoid creating excessive burdens that might negatively impact the growth of the sharing and gig economy, some tax administrations reported the introduction in their jurisdiction of legislative simplifications. These are often aimed at reducing complexity for some platform sellers and thus encouraging greater compliance. Other tax administrations have taken the view that nothing separate is needed for the sharing and gig economy beyond any existing regimes aimed at small businesses (which are features of many jurisdictions’ tax regimes).
32. This is obviously a matter for each jurisdiction depending on its circumstances, with potential trade-offs between encouraging new economic activity and reduction of the cash economy, and potentially impacting competition in particular sectors. Some examples of legislative simplifications are in the box below.
Hungary has introduced a special rule for those renting out accommodation for less than ninety days and who have no more than three properties (with a maximum of eight rooms overall) and the properties are in his/her name in the land registry. In this case, there is only a nominal annual personal income tax sum to be paid of around EUR 120 per room.
In Denmark, a political agreement has been concluded to increase the basic allowance on holiday home rental from around EUR 2 900 to around EUR 5 300. The new allowance is conditioned by the rental being handled through a third party (e.g. a platform or a rental agency) which reports the income to the Danish Tax Agency. Without reporting via third parties, the basic allowance will be approximately EUR 1 500. In addition, a similar incentive will also be made for short-term rental of permanent residences. With this initiative, the basic allowance will be approximately EUR 4 000. A 40% deduction of any income above the basic allowance is available if income is reported to the tax administration. If not, the basic allowance will be approximately EUR 1 500. Similar initiatives have been made as regards the rental of boats, cars and campers.
Italy allows those renting short-term to opt for a substitute fixed income tax rate of 21%. In this case, the platform intermediating the payment will apply a withholding tax of 21% and provide the lessor with a certificate containing all relevant data. The certificate is also transmitted online to the Italian Revenue Agency that will use it to pre-fill the lessor’s tax return. In addition, the recently approved Budget Law for 2018 has introduced a withholding tax on capital income received by occasional lenders acting through on-line platforms (peer-to-peer lending). This procedure relieves the taxpayer of the need to include this income in the annual income tax return.
In Norway, as of the 2018 tax year, new rules have been introduced for short-term rentals of less than thirty days. Tax is due on income exceeding around EUR 1 000 with a standardised deduction of 15% and tax on the remainder at 23%. (While a simplified regime, previously such income was often tax-free.)
From April 2017/18 tax year the United Kingdom introduced tax-free allowances on property and trading income so taxpayers would no longer have to declare income from these sources where the annual gross income was GBP 1000 or less.
2.3. Withholding arrangements
33. Given the large and potentially growing number of platform sellers, many of who may receive relatively small amounts of income, it will usually not be cost effective to undertake large numbers of individual investigations and audits. As the size of the sharing and gig economy increases, this could become a more significant part of the tax base with people who were previously solely salaried employees (and often subject to withholding tax), earning income through one or multiple platforms as self-employed persons.
34. One option to cover large numbers of people could be through withholding arrangements such as have been entered into by a few jurisdictions as regards some platforms. Withholding can be an efficient tool to ensure compliance. Tax gap analysis published by the United States Inland Revenue Service in 2016 found that compliance is higher when amounts are subject to tax information reporting and even higher when also subject to withholding.
35. Withholding taxes are taxes paid directly to the government, usually by a principal who pays the income to the recipient, or as an intermediary between the payer and customer. The most common withholding tax in operation globally is income tax on employment income. Other examples include withholding taxes on interest, dividends, royalties or property income for non-residents. Depending on the underlying tax regime and nature of the payments, withholding can vary from a simple system, at a universal set rate, to a more complex system that is responsive to the customer’s wider circumstances.
36. Withholding taxes may also apply to foreign platforms, in which case a tax representative might be needed in order to address potential data protection or enforcement issues depending on the circumstances of the jurisdictions concerned.
Italy recently introduced new requirements for intermediaries acting in a traditional way (agencies) or through online platforms. Intermediaries can be tax residents in Italy or non-resident acting through a permanent establishment or a tax representative. Under these requirements, intermediaries that intervene in the payment will have to withhold tax at 21% on gross payments. Other intermediaries intervening in the transaction transmit basic identification data to the Italian tax administration (beginning in 2018). The taxpayer may claim tax refunds of the withholding tax, with the credit granted against the final tax liability due.
In Mexico, the Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria) has issued a tax rule that facilitates compliance by taxpayers that independently provide passenger transportation or food delivery services through online platforms. Under the rule, the platforms calculate and withhold the relevant income tax and value added tax that would otherwise have to be paid by the taxpayer on a monthly basis.
2.4. Identifying platform sellers
37. Other options for engaging with large numbers of platforms sellers may be using information obtained from platforms to pre-fill tax returns, issue communications to prompt and encourage voluntary compliance (sent either by the tax administration or platform) or other targeted compliance activities. These options rely on tax administrations being able to identify platform sellers such that they can be matched with existing taxpayers, or registered as new taxpayers.
38. Participating tax administrations were asked what information they would need to receive for these purposes. For most administrations this is broadly the same information as required under the Common Reporting Standard for financial account information and other third party reporting regimes, namely:
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First and last name
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Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) if any
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Date of birth
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Address
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Bank account number(s) to which payments are made
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Amounts paid to the platform seller.
39. Some other participating tax administrations also wanted to receive the e-mail and mobile phone number of platform users as well as fees paid by the platform to the platform seller. Where the activity was short-term rental, a number of administrations also wanted information on the duration of the contract (since there may be local thresholds) as well as the property address and/or property registration number.
40. Further work will be needed to refine the minimum information requirements, both to ensure that tax administrations have sufficient information and to avoid placing excessive burdens on platforms. Ideally, a single set of information could be agreed between tax administrations, which applied to all sharing and gig economy platforms, both domestic and operating in a multinational context, to avoid them having to report different sets of information. (There may also be benefits for this information to meet the needs of tax authorities for indirect as well as direct tax compliance.) There may, though, need to be an enhanced set of information for transactions involving immoveable property given that the income may be taxable in more than one jurisdiction (subject to appropriate double taxation relief).
2.4.1. Public sources of information
41. The vast majority of the jurisdictions involved in the project make use of information technologies to collect information automatically from websites. A wide set of IT techniques has been applied, such as web scraping or web crawling. Some jurisdictions have developed tools in-house to take into account the specific features of data to be collected from particular platforms, while others have used open-source software. Data collected from the web can provide information on prices, transactions, duration of stay etc. as well as make estimates on turnover.
42. Despite the use of these tools, most tax administrations did not find data collected from websites to be entirely reliable, especially regarding the platform seller’s identification (which may for example be just a first name or a nickname). In addition, the transformation from unstructured data to data that can uniquely identify taxpayers can be extremely resource-intensive. Some tax administrations have nonetheless found public data obtained in this way to be useful for monitoring the business models of the platforms and tax risks, as well as helping them to provide evidence for government bodies looking into wider public policy issues. Some jurisdictions have also developed data analytics tools and systems to analyse taxpayer declarations, tax returns and other third party information to risk assess for under-declarations of tax or to strengthen risk analysis procedures.
In Ireland, Revenue uses advanced analytics to detect patterns of non-compliant behaviour from the extensive sources of Revenue and third-party data available. Revenue’s Risk Evaluation Analysis and Profiling system uses data from multiple sources to inform compliance activities.
The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) is running parallel process platforms (Apache Spark) using Big Data tools such as Hadoop and Graphx to provide auditors with a picture of the networks of companies involved in these types of activities. Also, AEAT has used data collected from websites to communicate to taxpayers that AEAT is aware of a possible renting activity. The communication was included in pre-populated income tax returns and resulted in a 26% increase in declared income.
2.4.2. Data protection
43. A number of jurisdictions highlighted potential proportionality concerns of using publicly available information automatically collected from websites if done on an indiscriminate basis (i.e. outside of audits and investigations). Some jurisdictions also noted that data collected through web scraping tools may only be capable of being used as circumstantial evidence that needs to be verified within an administrative procedure in which taxpayers retain their rights to present alternative evidence. It was also noted by some that there were limitations on tax officials from accessing open source content without appropriate permissions.
44. The wider legal framework regarding privacy or security limitations for using public data sources is covered by a multiple level of provisions. EU Member States, for example, have to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as well as national laws and internal regulations. Generally speaking, the processing of personal data is lawful to the extent that it is necessary for the tax administration’s performance of tasks carried out in the exercise of official authority as described in the national laws.
2.4.3. Voluntary agreements to supply data
45. A few tax administrations have entered into small-scale voluntary agreements with platforms regarding the provision of information on platform sellers and/or direct withholding and payment of local taxes or fees for services offered through the platforms. In some jurisdictions, municipalities in particular have concluded agreements with short-term rental platforms for the platform to collect city taxes on behalf of the municipality.
46. Voluntary arrangements may be an effective solution in the case of more established platforms particularly in jurisdictions where the tax compliance culture means that a large percentage of platform users might be expected to give consent. However, as the number of platforms operating across border grows, with platform sellers having a greater choice of platforms they can use for the same activity, voluntary arrangements may become more difficult to negotiate and to control. A number of tax administrations raised concerns with relying on voluntary agreements for large populations of taxpayers in the light of data protection and privacy issues, in particular the need for informed taxpayer consent, which in many countries needs to be freely given and capable of being withdrawn at any time.
The Danish government is exploring options regarding the exchange of information on income from rentals in Denmark through online platforms. In this context, the Danish Customs and Tax Administration will develop a digital solution for declaring income. This is through an Application Programming Interface (API) that can be integrated by the platforms. The API will integrate authorisation and consent between the supplier (e.g. the user renting out property), a third party (e.g. a platform) and the Danish Customs and Tax Administration.
In France, a law passed in late 2017 will impose from 2019 the collection of the occupancy tourist tax (known as “taxe de séjour”) by platforms offering holiday rentals. This tax is to be paid by tourists for each night spent in commercial accommodation. This tax historically applies to hotel residents but also applies to private holiday rentals. Before 2019, platforms can collect the occupancy tourist tax from customers to remit it to municipalities on a voluntary basis. Short-term rental platforms agreed to do so in major French tourist cities, including Paris.
In Italy, some municipalities have concluded special agreements with the platforms for the collection of the local city tax.
2.4.4. Legal powers to access data
47. There appears to be no obstacle to jurisdictions legislating to require online platforms to provide them with information on all platform sellers who are tax resident in the jurisdiction provided it is relevant for tax purposes. This will generally be unproblematic as regards enforcement where a platform has structures in place in the jurisdiction in question that allow a local office or representative to be able to obtain the information. In other situations, i.e. where those structures are not in place or the platform has no presence in the jurisdiction, the legislation, or its practical implementation, should foresee approaches that facilitate enforceability. This may not be straightforward.
48. Participating tax administrations were asked to specify the extent of their legal powers to obtain information on platform sellers in two different scenarios. These were:
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Scenario 1: where the information is held in their territory by a sharing and gig economy platform or its agent
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Scenario 2: where the information is held in another jurisdiction.
Scenario 1 – Information is held domestically
Note: In this case, the information collected by the platform is held in tax administration A’s jurisdiction either by the platform or by a local office (Scenario 1).
49. It will be a matter for each administration as to how to obtain information held within their jurisdiction and on which taxpayers. This will depend on national circumstances, including legislative provisions, and identified risks.
50. All participating tax administrations reported having powers to enable them to access data held within their jurisdiction when checking any individual taxpayer’s position, for example after an investigation or audit is opened. A number of tax administrations also indicated that they had legal powers to ask third parties for information about all of the individual platform sellers resident in their jurisdiction on a bulk basis (i.e. as a class of taxpayers). However, relatively few tax administrations seem to be collecting information on a bulk basis at present.
Scenario 2 – Information is held abroad
Note: In this case, the platform provider has no local office in tax administration A’s jurisdiction and the data collected by the platform is held abroad (Scenario 2).
51. In this scenario, most tax administrations reported that they are unable to obtain data from a platform without the use of administrative assistance instruments, such as EU Directives, bilateral or multilateral instruments.
52. All tax administrations do, though, have the ability, under international agreements for exchange of information on request, to obtain data on individual platform sellers resident in another jurisdiction. This is subject both to an international agreement being in effect between the tax administrations in question and the request meeting the requirements set out in that agreement, including that the information is “foreseeably relevant”.
53. In this case, there is no contact with the platform, but only with tax administration B in the diagram. In the survey, most of the jurisdictions reported a satisfactory success rate of exchange of information requests when the taxpayers were identified. One obstacle identified by a number of tax administrations in this regard is that it can be difficult to identify taxpayers adequately from internet searches for exchange of information request purposes. It was also reported that where information was provided by a platform it was sometimes unstructured and difficult to use.
54. No tax administration yet appears to have agreed to group requests for information on all individual platform sellers made by another tax administration. This may be on the basis that these requests have not met the tests for “foreseeable relevance” and have been treated as “fishing expeditions” which do not meet the requirements of the international agreements.
55. The OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (OECD, 2017[1]) and its commentary provides guidance at paragraph 12 of its commentary on Article 26 (Exchange of Information Article) on how the standard of “foreseeable relevance” can be met in the case of a request relating to a group of taxpayers not individually identified.
56. The commentary notes that in such a case it is necessary that the:
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“requesting state provide a detailed description of the group and the specific facts and circumstances that lead to the request, an explanation of the applicable law and why there is reason to believe that the taxpayers in the group for whom information is requested have been non-compliant with that law supported by a clear factual basis”.
57. In general, it should be noted that laws in a requested jurisdiction may allow a third-party information holder to appeal or challenge such a group request by way of court proceedings.
58. At present, it appears that only a small number of jurisdictions have legislated to collect data from sharing and gig economy platforms on all of their tax resident platform sellers regardless of the location of the platform and data.
In France, from 2020 (i.e. covering 2019 revenues), French or foreign platforms will have the obligation to communicate to the tax authorities the revenues received by users.
In Spain, from January 2019, platforms that intermediate in the rental of tourist housing have the obligation to communicate to the tax authority information on the activity in which they intermediate: identification of the owner of the property, identification of the property, rental income and other information.
Norway is introducing regulations for third party reporting, both for domestic and foreign platforms. The regulations will apply to foreign platforms having sufficient activity in Norway, for instance if the platform is used to rent out a property in Norway or a service taking place in Norway. Norway expects to have these regulations in place from 2020. The information on rental collected from platforms will be used to pre-fill the tax return for individual taxpayers.
Reference
[1] OECD (2017), Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital: Condensed Version 2017, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/mtc_cond-2017-en.