Orange County could be on the verge of settling a multimillion-dollar legal fight with the online-travel company Expedia about the payment of hotel bed taxes.
Details of a proposed settlement agreement have not been announced but could involve Expedia paying $5 million to $10 million, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Also, the agreement does not settle Orange County’s similar claims against another online-travel firm, Orbitz.
Orange is one of numerous counties that have filed lawsuits in recent years alleging that online-travel companies have not passed along the full amount of hotel taxes that are owed. The dispute also has spilled into the Legislature, where online-travel companies have supported proposals that would make clear they do not owe the disputed amounts — which they liken to “services” taxes.
A bill died at the end of the 2011 session, though another attempt to pass such as measure is expected in 2012.
