Object of the decision
By two decisions dated 8 April 2025, AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY was ordered to pay the COMMUNAUTE DE COMMUNES DE L’ILE D’OLERON the total sum of 8,654,500 euros for its failure to fulfil its obligations to declare, collect and pay back 5,066 tourist taxes for 2021 and 2,344 tourist taxes for 2022, as well as to reimburse its legal fees.
As a reminder, on 19 October 2022 and 28 July 2023, the COMMUNAUTE DE COMMUNES DE L’ILE D’OLERON brought an action against AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY seeking fines under Article L. 2333-34-1 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales (General Code of Local Authorities) for failure to comply with its obligations in respect of the tourist tax for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.
AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY then raised a priority question of constitutionality concerning article L. 2333-34-1 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales, asking whether it infringed the principles of necessity and proportionality of penalties, as well as the principle of non bis in idem, and requesting that it be referred to the Cour de cassation.
In an initial judgment dated 16 June 2023, the La Rochelle Court of First Instance ruled that there was no need to refer the priority question of constitutionality to the Cour de cassation and ordered AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY to pay the COMMUNAUTE DE COMMUNES DE L’ILE D’OLERON the sum of 30,000 euros in respect of its failure to pay the 5,066 tourist taxes for 2021.
In a second judgment dated 16 April 2024, the La Rochelle Court of First Instance ruled that there was no need to refer the priority question of constitutionality to the Cour de cassation and ordered the AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY to pay the COMMUNAUTE DE COMMUNES DE L’ILE D’OLERON the sum of 1,375,000 euros in respect of its breaches concerning the 2,344 tourist taxes for the year 2022.
On appeal, the Poitiers Court of Appeal upheld the judgments of 16 June 2023 and 16 April 2024 insofar as they ruled that there was no need to refer to the Court of Cassation the priority question of constitutionality raised by AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY and increased the amounts of the fines to the total sum of 5,078,500 euros in respect of 2021 and to the sum of 3,516,000 euros in respect of 2022.
The Poitiers Court of Appeal also ordered AIRBNB IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY to pay the sum of 30,000 euros in reimbursement of lawyers’ fees.
Jonathan BELLAICHE
