Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) has been told to hand over almost €800 million to Italian tax authorities for alleged tax evasion.
Reports say a judge in Milan authorised the seizure of €779.5 million (US$832.5 million) following Airbnb’s failure to pay Italian tax authorities 21% of rental income on properties let out.
Italy and Airbnb have been locked in a legal battle since an EU court ruling in 2017.
Attempts by the company to overturn the ruling were rejected earlier this year.
Italian authorities have demanded the company provide details of all of its rental contracts between 2017 and 2021, alleging tax was not collected on around €3.7 billion of rental income.
Airbnb told the BBC that it was "surprised and disappointed at the action announced by the Italian public prosecutor".
Christopher Nutly, a spokesperson for the firm, said: "We are confident that we have acted in full compliance with the law and intend to exercise our rights with respect to this issue."
Three managers at the company are also under investigation, said the Italian prosecutors in a statement.
Italy has been cracking down on the underpayment of taxes by multinationals such as Airbnb, with Meta and Netflix also said to be under investigation, according to local sources.