Expedia ordered to pay hotel occupancy tax

from yesterday's Hotel News Network (9/24):

Court orders Expedia to pay occupancy tax
24 September 2008 2:51 PM
HNN Newswire

"This week the Superior Court of Muscogee County, Georgia, released Columbus, Georgia v. Expedia, Inc., which is a case of significant importance to on-line travel companies (OTCs) and hotel operators regarding the collection and remittance of hotel occupancy taxes. As in other cases filed by various cities, counties and other local jurisdictions around the country, this Georgia case arises from a dispute over Expedia’s calculation of hotel occupancy taxes. Expedia computed and collected the hotel occupancy tax on the wholesale rate paid to the hotel for the room. The City of Columbus asserted that the appropriate taxable base is the marked-up rate charged to the consumer. The Superior Court resolved the dispute in favor of the City and ordered Expedia to collect and remit hotel occupancy taxes to the City based on the room rate charged to consumers instead of the wholesale rate paid to the hotel." ...

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