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Other benefits
Levelling the playing field with new emerging players outside of the VAT scope
The so-called ‘collaborative’ economy is developing
exponentially in Europe with bringing new suppliers,
many of them being regularly active on the market.
The growth of this new and often unregulated
segment, which is to be considered as an opportunity
for tourism destinations, is seriously impacting the
regulated tourism accommodation market. Compared
to 13,8 million beds available in hotels and similar
establishments in the EU, there are already almost one
and a half times more available on the holiday home
market, around 20 million.
34
(7,3 million of which only
are registered in the official statistics of Eurostat).
Similarly, collaborative type of food services (‘private
restaurants’) are on the rise as well.
As most of the suppliers in the ‘collaborative’ economy
market are not subject to or are not paying VAT, it
creates a considerable competitive advantage for them
on the market.
Therefore, a low level of VAT on hospitality services reduces this competitive edge on the supply side of the European
tourist accommodation and catering market and thus shall be maintained.
Hotels and similar
(Eurostat)
Holiday homes
(Eurostat)
Holiday homes
(EHHA)
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
Number of beds in millions in the EU
18
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HOTREC - Report on the benefits of low VAT on job creation and competitiveness in the European Union