Sharing Economy. Regulatory Approaches for Combating Airbnb’s Controversy Regarding Taxation and Regulation

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Law - Tax / Fiscal Law, grade: 1,1, language: English, abstract: Over the last few years, the sharing economy has grown substantially with new high-profile businesses emerging. Especially Airbnb became an integral part of the accommodation industry and disrupted traditional hotel and Bed and Breakfast businesses. However, at present, Airbnb has to face many controversies due to consumer safety, regulatory and tax evasion issues. As regulators and legislators established laws and regulations with the traditional economy in mind, they are not suited for the sharing economy and application often remains uncertain, especially in the area of taxation. Consequently, the difficulty of establishing an effective regulatory framework for the sharing economy is receiving considerable attention currently. Therefore, this thesis aims to identify some of the challenges that will be of concern to regulators when developing a regulatory framework and outlines some guiding principles for regulating Airbnb. Finally, this thesis finds that a self-regulatory approach could be the most effective solution to encounter the difficulties and controversy.