A maxi seizure of more than 779 million and 453 thousand euros was carried out yesterday by the Milan Finance Police against Airbnb Ireland Unlimited Company, owner of the eponymous short-let platform as well as three people who held administrative positions within the U.S. group between 2017 and 2021, accused by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office of tax fraud: they did not pay the withholding tax on rents amounting to nearly 4 billion euros. According to the findings, the company "did not comply with the obligations introduced" by the 2017 law, "evading", reads a note by Prosecutor Marcello Viola, "the declaration and payment (as withholding agent) of withholding taxes" in an amount equal to the amount seized and "calculated at the rate of 21 percent (the so-called 'dry coupon') on short lease rentals for 3. 711,685,297 euros paid in the period 2017-2021 by guests of the accommodation facilities advertised by the platform, against bookings made". In short, on the billion-dollar figure forfeited with rentals, the company would have paid to the owners of the properties (the hosts) the amount paid by the tenants "net of the commission charged for the use of the relevant digital infrastructure", failing to settle the accounts with the Italian tax authorities for the years January 2019-January 2023.