Ga. Court: Travel Web Site Shorting City On Tax

Attorneys for the travel sites did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Monday, but they have argued that the lawsuits are baseless and that the taxes are properly paid. They contend the sites shouldn't be subjected to the same taxes as actual hotels, because they are service providers and not hotel operators.

But the Georgia court's 13-page page ruling disagreed. The opinion, penned by Justice Robert Benham, found that Expedia is responsible for the taxes because it agreed to collect them.

"Having done so, it has rendered itself accountable to the city's tax authorities for remission of taxes it has actually collected," Benham wrote.

In a dissent, Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein says Expedia is subject to hotel occupancy taxes. She contends that Expedia isn't acting as "an innkeeper but as a private party who, under the plain language of the ordinance, is not subject to the ordinance's terms."

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