Hi everyone!
I have been unfairly charged US tax by Airbnb despite the fact that:
- I am NOT a US citizen nor resident
- None of my properties are based in US;
All my listings/properties are in Dubai, UAE. My bank account is in UAE where all Airbnb funds are transferred. I have an Asian passport and resident of UAE. No tax impact at all, not even remotely!
I was browsing my payouts and noticed 30% of my revenue being withheld with below message:
4Jan22 - Tax Withholding for US Income
5Jan22 - Tax Withholding for US Income
I contacted Airbnb support on 3rd Jan 2022 and they took whole 2 days to respond. Within these 2 days, 2 payments were withheld. Now the Airbnb support is sending confusing answers & basically refusing to refund these amounts.
Its a serious issue about principles and fairness. First of all, Airbnb internal system flagged a wrong account which has nothing to do with US taxes. They never send any message about any tax obligation. Infact I proactively complained to them before the actual date. They took their time and now refusing to accept this internal error & issue a refund. This is really unacceptable. What kind of internal escalations (email/contact) or legal options do I have in your opinion? I am hoping any logical and fair person from Airbnb should be able to make the right decision.
Would highly appreciate your kind support and suggestions. Thank you so much!
