In a surprising turn of events, peer-to-peer car rental platform CarAmigo has reached an agreement with the Belgian government regarding the taxation of this service for the car owners and platform customers. This agreement is the world’s first between traditional governments and disruptive new services. In fact, CarAmigo gets a leg up over competitors such as Blablacar and Uber in this regard.
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CarAmigo – Fiscal Agreement Details Taxation for Owners and Users
During the Crowdsourcing Week Europe 2015 event in Brussels, Belgium, peer-to-peer car rental service stunned the audience with their major announcement. CarAmigo is the first peer-to-peer car-sharing platform in the world to reach a fiscal agreement with a national government regarding its services.
The way CarAmigo works is as follows: people can rent out their own vehicle to anyone else in the region, which puts a whole different spin on the principle of owning a car. While CarAmigo is sometimes referred t as the AirBnb of cars, the company is offering so much more than that.
This platform serves as a way to bring people together. On the one hand, there are people who are not using their cat for most of the time, and on the other hand, there are people in need of convenient transportation. Every single rental taking place through the CarAmigo platform is covered by an all-inclusive insurance, putting both the driver and passenger at ease.
From a driver’s perspective, it is vital to be protected against all sorts of harm and events. If anything would happen to the rented car, Touring Mobilis will be on their way to assist you and tow the car if needed. While travelling through the EU, various European towing and repair companies will help wherever needed. If push comes to shove, a replacement vehicle will be offered by all of these services as well.
To make sure not just anyone can rent out their car through CarAmigo, a detailed scrutiny check is put in place. Passports and ID cards will have to be submitted and verified, the car must pass a technical inspection, and all insurance paperwork has to be in order. There will be no “black sheeps” allowed to use this service.
It has taken a while until the Belgian government came to an agreement with CarAmigo regarding the potential taxation for users of this platform. Now that an agreement has been reached, both the car owner and the end user will be able to calculate the amount of taxes owed on beforehand. All calculations take place in the CarAmigo application.
Furthermore, there is a tax deduction initiative in place as well. For every taxable transaction taking place through CarAmigo, users will be able to deduct [a portion of] that amount for tax purposes. This also gives government officials a foundation to determine the maximum number of calendar days users can rent out their cars in the future.
Open-Minded Belgian Government
It is not the first time the Belgian government keeps an open-minded approach to new and innovative technologies. Up until this point, Bitcoin, the popular digital currency around the world, is not taxable in Belgium. Talks are underway to create some form of legal framework for digital currently, but the taxation situation will not change any time soon.
Many people feel that Bitcoin taxation should be decided upon by the European Union, which may very well be the case in the end. Then again, services like CarAmigo can expand all over the European Union as well, yet Belgian government officials have created their own set of rules without waiting for the EU’s decision.
What are your thoughts on this taxation agreement between CarAmigo and the Belgian Government? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Crowdsourcing Week Europe 2015
Images courtesy of CarAmigo, Shutterstock
