Booking.com to pay 94 million euros to settle Italian tax dispute

Travel website Booking.com has agreed to pay 94 million euros ($100.25 million) to settle a tax dispute in Italy, Genoa prosecutors said on Friday.

Prosecutors in the nortwestern Italian port city launched their investigation in 2018 into Booking.com, which is based in the Netherlands, over the way it handles taxation of properties rented out through its website.

Italy's Guardia di Finanza tax police alleged in June 2021 that Booking.com evaded 153 million euros ($169 million) of value added tax (VAT) in connection with holiday rentals from 2013 to 2019.


Last November Dutch magistrates accepted a European investigation order (OIE) sent by Italy allowing Italian prosecutors to question two former Booking.com CFOs as part of the investigation.

Subsequently prosecutors in Genoa extended their tax claims to include the year 2022. Friday's settlement follows direct talks between the company and the Italian revenue agency.