Florida AG sues Expedia, Orbitz over millions in taxes for online hotel room bookings

Fla. AG sues Expedia, Orbitz over hotel taxes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state of Florida is suing online travel reservation companies over hotel taxes, the latest in a string of suits nationwide claiming the sites owe local authorities millions of dollars.

Attorney General Bill McCollum sued Expedia and Orbitz on Tuesday, claiming they failed to pay Florida the full amount of taxes collected on hotel room rentals through their sites.

The lawsuit claims the companies have been keeping some of the tax as profit.

Similar complaints have been filed by cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta.

Expedia and Orbitz did not immediately respond to messages left for comment.