More On OTAs & Taxes

Aloha Kakou:

The Attorney General of Florida, Bill McCollum, said tuesday that the state would file lawsuits against against the two largest Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to recover unpaid taxes on the difference between the travel agency's net rate and the rate those agencies ultimately charged the consumer.

"The customer is paying the tax already," said McCollum, who is running for governor in 2010. "Orbitz and Expedia are not remitting to the state all the taxes they have collected."

"The decision to file a lawsuit will hurt the interest of millions of travelers and tourism workers in Florida," said Andrew Weinstein, spokesman for the Washington-based Industry Travel Services Association. "It will make it more expensive for visitors to come to the state."

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