Airbnb collecting tax

[John1387]

Airbnb have been collecting the tourist tax from our guests at the incorrect amount since they started doing this in July.  I have sent so many messages via the Help Support message service which is a total joke.  Nobody replies or when they do they just refer you to the "rules & regs".  They should not have started taking this tax from our guests because we pay on the "forfait" system in France.  Now our local commune expects us to pay the money to them that Airbnb have collected (which is the wrong and underpaid amount).  We have to pay the Commune in October and Airbnb do not pay what they have taken from the guests until Dec or Jan 2019.  Why should I pay the commune when it is Airbnb who decided to collect this tax with no authroisation from us, who own the business.  I am so p.......d off with the total lack of communication from Airbnb and not being able to get anyone to resolve this issue for the whole of the Summer.  I am now caught between Airbnb ignoring the problem and our Commune looking for money that I have not taken.  Well they will not get it from me and will have to sort this mess out with Airbnb.  I cannot go through this again next year so will now be deleting our B&B from Airbnb.  Just not worth the hassle.  At least Booking.com have not taken this overhanded decision to interefere in our business and collect the tax (yet) and they also reply to any problems very quickly and they even phone you to resolve.  Think you need to up your game Airbnb you are just not worth doing business with anymore.    

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

How do taxes work for hosts?

Local Tax

If you determine that you need to collect tax, you can usually either add it within a Special Offer or ask your guests to pay it in person. In each case, it's important that guests are informed of the exact tax amount prior to booking. If you choose to collect tax outside of your listing's rates, please note that it should be collected only upon arrival and that we are unable to assist with collection.

In some locations, Airbnb hosts may have a collect and remit feature available to handle occupancy tax. Hosts should not collect occupancy taxes separately for those jurisdictions.

Learn more about Local Tax.

Value Added Tax

If your country of residence is part of the European Union or China, you may need to assess Value Added Tax (VAT) on the services you provide. We encourage you to consult a tax advisor in your jurisdiction for more insight or if you need assistance assessing VAT on the services you provide.

Additionally, Airbnb is required to collect VAT on its service fees in countries that tax Electronically Supplied Services. Currently, that includes all countries in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, South Africa, and Albania.

[John1387]

Well that reply was totally useless.  All Airbnb have done is replied quoting the text from their site.  Does not solve the problem that they were taking the wrong tax.  How difficult would it have been to adjust the tax from 22c per person, per night to 55c and all would have been fine.  But no, nobody resolved the problem so we have said goodbye to Airbnb.  Cannot endure another season with all the stress they have bought us this year.  Airbnb need to sort themselves out because others will soon no doubt walk away.