An online travel company could soon reach an agreement with Orange County to pay millions of dollars as a settlement on monies collected from charging higher amounts for rooms to customers.
Expedia, the world’s leading online travel agency, could pay millions to Orange County government on bed tax receipts that will likely benefit the new performing Arts Center and the planned renovation of Florida Citrus Bowl, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The likely settlement to the county comes in light of a long-fought issue where online travel bookers, such as Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz, book blocks of rooms at a discount, then marks them up, paying taxes only on the amount paid by the booker and not the amount actually paid by the customer for the room.
Online travel companies and counties throughout the U.S. are engaged in several lawsuits over the matter, seeking to clarify whether the tax is due on the lower or higher amount.
