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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Competition and Consumer Protection Reviews At times, online platforms, including online travel platforms, have been the subject of investigations or inquiries by various national competition authorities ("NCAs") or other governmental authorities regarding competition law matters, consumer protection issues, or other areas of concern. The Company is and has been involved in many such investigations. For example, the Company has been and continues to be involved in investigations related to whether Booking.com's contractual parity arrangements with accommodation providers, sometimes also referred to as "most favored nation" or "MFN" provisions, are anti-competitive because they require accommodation providers to provide Booking.com with room rates, conditions or availability that are at least as favorable as those offered to other online travel companies or through the accommodation provider's website. To resolve and close certain of the investigations, the Company has from time to time made commitments to the investigating authorities regarding future business practices or activities, such as agreeing to narrow the scope of its parity clauses, in order to resolve parity-related investigations. These investigations have resulted in fines and the Company could incur additional fines in the future. In addition, in September 2017, the Swiss Price Surveillance Office opened an investigation into the level of commissions of Booking.com in Switzerland and the investigation is ongoing. If there is an adverse outcome and Booking.com is unsuccessful in any appeal, Booking.com could be required to reduce its commissions in Switzerland. In October 2022, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia in Spain opened an investigation into whether certain practices by Booking.com may produce adverse effects for hotels and other online travel agencies. If the investigation finds that certain Booking.com practices violated Spanish competition laws, Booking.com may face fines and/or be required to make other commitments. Some authorities are reviewing the online hotel booking sector more generally through market inquiries, and the Company cannot predict the outcome of such inquiries or any resulting impact on its business, results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition. The Company is and has been involved in investigations or inquiries by NCAs or other governmental authorities involving consumer protection matters, including in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Company has previously made certain voluntary commitments to competition authorities to resolve investigations or inquiries that have included showing prices inclusive of all mandatory taxes and charges, providing information about the effect of money earned on search result rankings on or before the search results page and making certain adjustments to how discounts and statements concerning popularity or availability are shown to consumers. In the future, it is possible new jurisdictions could engage the Company in discussions to implement changes to its business in those countries. The Company is unable to predict what, if any, effect any future similar commitments will have on its business, industry practices or online commerce more generally. To the extent that any other investigations or inquiries result in additional commitments, fines, damages or other remedies, the Company's business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed. The Company is unable to predict how any current or future investigations or litigation may be resolved or the long-term impact of any such resolution on its business. For example, competition and consumer-law-related investigations, legislation, or issues could result in private litigation and the Company is currently involved in such litigation. More immediate results could include, among other things, the imposition of fines, payment of damages, commitments to change certain business practices, or reputational damage, any of which could harm the Company's business, results of operations, brands, or competitive position. Tax Matters Between December 2018 and August 2021, the Italian tax authorities issued assessments on Booking.com's Italian subsidiary totaling approximately 251 million Euros ($273 million) for the tax years 2013-2018, asserting that its transfer pricing policies were inadequate. The Company believes Booking.com has been and continues to be in compliance with Italian tax law. In September 2020, the Italian tax authorities approved the opening of a MAP between Italy and the Netherlands for the 2013 tax year and the Italian tax authorities subsequently approved the inclusion of the tax years 2014-2018 in the MAP. Based on the Company's expectation that the Italian assessments for 2013-2018, and any transfer pricing assessments received for subsequent open years will be settled through the MAP process, and after considering potential resolution amounts, 18 million Euros ($19 million) have been reflected in unrecognized tax benefits, the majority of which are reflected in "Other assets, net" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. In December 2019, the Company made a partial prepayment of 10 million Euros ($11 million) of the 2013 assessment to avoid any collection enforcement from the Italian tax authorities pending the appeal phase of the case. The payment, net of a partial reduction for unrecognized tax benefits, is included in "Other assets, net" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, and does not constitute an admission that the Company owes the taxes and will be refunded (with interest) to the Company to the extent that the Company prevails. Similarly, during the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company made deposits totaling 64 million Euros ($70 million) for the 2014 through 2018 assessments. The payments are included in "Other assets, net" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. In June 2021, the investigative arm of the Italian tax authorities issued a Tax Audit Report recommending that a formal tax assessment of 154 million Euros ($167 million), plus interest and penalties, be made on Booking.com BV for VAT related to commissions charged to certain Italian accommodation providers from 2013 to 2019. In connection with the Tax Audit Report, the Genoa Public Prosecutor has requested certain Booking.com tax information and related data. The Company is cooperating with that request. While the Company continues to believe that Booking.com has been compliant with applicable VAT laws, recently the Company had discussions with the Italian tax authorities regarding the potential to resolve these matters. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had a liability of 71 million Euros ($77 million) and 44 million Euros ($47 million), respectively, with respect to the potential settlement of the issues raised in the Tax Audit Report as applied to the periods 2013 to 2022, which is included in "Accrued expenses and other current liabilities" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. In 2018 and 2019, Turkish tax authorities asserted that Booking.com had a permanent establishment in Turkey and issued tax assessments for the years 2012 through 2018 for approximately 845 million Turkish Lira ($44 million), which includes interest and penalties through March 31, 2023. In March 2023, the Turkish government enacted a tax amnesty law. The Company intends to apply the tax amnesty to the tax cases for the years 2012 through 2017. Participation in the tax amnesty program allows for reduced payments to settle and close those cases, and does not constitute an admission that the Company accepts the merits of the assertions set forth by the Turkish tax authorities. In addition, the Company will pay certain tax base increase amounts for the years 2018 through 2022 in accordance with the tax amnesty law, which forestalls any tax audits of these years. As a result, the Company has recorded liabilities for VAT, withholding taxes, and income taxes totaling 210 million Turkish Lira ($11 million) as of March 31, 2023, which are included in "Accrued expenses and other current liabilities" in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company will continue to litigate its 2013 tax year income tax case and all of its 2018 tax year cases. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company has paid approximately 149 million Turkish Lira ($8 million) and 118 million Turkish Lira ($6 million), respectively, of the assessments in order to preserve its right to contest the 2018 tax year assessment. Such payment, which is included in "Other assets, net" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, does not constitute an admission that the Company owes the taxes and will be refunded to the Company to the extent the Company prevails. The Company is also involved in other tax-related audits, investigations, or litigation relating to income taxes, value-added taxes, travel transaction taxes (e.g., hotel occupancy taxes), and other taxes. Any taxes or assessments in excess of the Company's tax provisions, including the resolution of any tax proceedings or litigation, could have a material adverse impact on the Company's results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition. Other Matters Beginning in 2014, Booking.com received several letters from the Netherlands Pension Fund for the Travel Industry (Reiswerk) ("BPF") claiming that Booking.com is required to participate in the mandatory pension scheme of the BPF with retroactive effect to 1999, which has a higher contribution rate than the pension scheme in which Booking.com is currently participating. BPF instituted legal proceedings against Booking.com and in 2016 the District Court of Amsterdam rejected all of BPF's claims. BPF appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, and, in May 2019, the Court of Appeal also rejected all of BPF's claims, in each case by ruling that Booking.com does not meet the definition of a travel intermediary for purposes of the mandatory pension scheme. BPF then appealed to the Netherlands Supreme Court. In April 2021, the Supreme Court overturned the previous decision of the Court of Appeal and held that Booking.com meets the definition of a travel intermediary for the purposes of the mandatory pension scheme. The Supreme Court ruled only on the qualification of Booking.com as a travel intermediary for the purposes of the mandatory pension scheme and did not rule on the various other defenses brought forward by the Company against BPF's claims. The Supreme Court referred the matter to another Court of Appeal that will have to assess the other defenses brought forward by the Company. The Company intends to pursue a number of defenses in the subsequent proceedings and may ultimately prevail in whole or in part. While the Company continues to believe that Booking.com is in compliance with its pension obligations and that the Court of Appeal could ultimately rule in favor of Booking.com, given the Supreme Court's decision, the Company believes it is probable that it has incurred a loss related to this matter. The Company is not able to reasonably estimate a loss or a range of loss because there are significant factual and legal questions yet to be determined in the subsequent proceedings. As a result, as of March 31, 2023, the Company has not recorded a liability in connection with a potential adverse ultimate outcome to this litigation. However, if Booking.com were to ultimately lose and all of BPF's claims were to be accepted (including with retroactive effect to 1999), the Company estimates that as of March 31, 2023, the maximum loss, not including any potential interest or penalties, would be approximately 364 million Euros ($395 million). Such estimated potential loss increases as Booking.com continues not to contribute to the BPF and depends on Booking.com's applicable employee compensation after March 31, 2023. From time to time, the Company notifies the competent data protection authority, such as the Dutch data protection authority in accordance with its obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation, of certain incidental and accidental personal data security incidents. Should, for example, the Dutch data protection authority decide these incidents were the result of inadequate technical and organizational security measures or practices, it could decide to impose a fine. The Company has been, is currently, and expects to continue to be, subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business, including claims of alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights. Such claims, even if not meritorious, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources, divert management's attention from the Company's business objectives and adversely affect the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. The Company accrues for certain legal contingencies where it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Such accrued amounts are not material to the Company's balance sheets and provisions recorded have not been material to the Company's results of operations or cash flows. Other Contractual Obligations and Contingencies The Company had $786 million and $452 million of standby letters of credit and bank guarantees issued on behalf of the Company as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, including those issued under the revolving credit facility. These are obtained primarily for regulatory purposes. See Note 9 for information related to letters of credit issued under the revolving credit facility. Booking.com offers partner liability insurance that provides protection to certain accommodation partners ("home partners") in instances where a reservation has been made via Booking.com. The partner liability insurance may provide those home partners (both owners and property managers) coverage up to $1.0 million equivalent per occurrence, subject to limitations and exclusions, against third-party lawsuits claims for bodily injury or third-party personal property damage that occurred during a stay booked through Booking.com. Booking.com retains certain financial risks related to this insurance offering, which is underwritten by third-party insurance companies.

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