Can Sharing Be Taxed?

82 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2015 Last revised: 21 May 2016

See all articles by Shu-Yi Oei

Shu-Yi Oei

Duke University School of Law

Diane M. Ring

Boston College - Law School

Date Written: September 10, 2015

Abstract

The past few years have seen the rise of a new model of production and consumption of goods and services, often referred to as the “sharing economy.” Fueled by startups such as Uber and Airbnb, sharing enables individuals to obtain rides, accommodations, and other goods and services from peers via the Internet or mobile application in exchange for payment. The rise of sharing has raised questions about how it should be regulated, including whether existing laws and regulations can and should be enforced in this new sector or whether new ones are needed.

In this Article, we explore those questions in the context of taxation. We argue that, contrary to the claims of some commentators, the application of substantive tax law to sharing is mostly (though not completely) clear, because current law generally contains the concepts and categories necessary to tax sharing. However, tax enforcement and compliance may present challenges, as a result of two distinctive features of sharing. First, some sharing businesses tend to opportunistically pick the more favorable regulatory interpretation if there is ambiguity regarding which rule applies or whether a rule applies. This leads to compliance and enforcement gaps. Second, the “microbusiness” nature of sharing raises unique compliance and enforcement concerns. We suggest strategies for addressing these dual challenges, including lower information reporting thresholds, safe harbors and advance rulings to simplify tax reporting, and targeted enforcement efforts.

Keywords: sharing economy, collaborative consumption, peer-to-peer economy, 1099 economy, taxation, tax compliance, information reporting, occupancy taxes, Uber, Airbnb, Lyft, TaskRabbit, regulation

JEL Classification: H20, H24, H25, H26, H29, H52, J41, K20, K23, K34, L51, L62

Suggested Citation

Oei, Shu-Yi and Ring, Diane M., Can Sharing Be Taxed? (September 10, 2015). Washington University Law Review, Vol. 93, No. 4, 2016, Tulane Public Law Research Paper No. 15-3, Boston College Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 352, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2570584 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2570584

Shu-Yi Oei (Contact Author)

Duke University School of Law ( email )

Box 90360
Durham, NC 27708-0360
United States

Diane M. Ring

Boston College - Law School ( email )

885 Centre Street
Newton, MA 02459-1163
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,222
Abstract Views
11,986
Rank
31,564
PlumX Metrics