Estonia Blocks New EU Tax Rules That Would Have Hit Airbnb, Bolt

Estonia is blocking a reform of VAT which would impose new liabilities on digital platforms including short-term accommodation and passenger transport companies such as Bolt Technology OU and Airbnb Inc.

“We are against taxing any service provider only because they provide their services via digital platforms,” Estonian Finance Minister Mart Vorklaev told Bloomberg ahead of the EU finance ministers discussion on the matter in Luxembourg on Friday.

He added that rather than a tax on digital platforms, this new regime would be a tax on small and medium-sized enterprises, representing an additional burden for them that will distort competition.

Estonia ...