Indianapolis – When planning a trip, many go online looking for deals on airfare and hotels. But now there’s a warning that travel sites carry a cost travelers may not know about.
According to PhoCusWright, a travel research company, more than a third of travelers use online sites to book their flights, hotels and car rentals. Those sites, including Orbitz, Priceline and Expedia are under fire. Indiana is among dozens of states and cities accusing the sites of not paying their fair share of taxes on hotel rooms.
“The Department of Revenue did an audit and issued an assessment for both the sales and innkeepers tax,” said Indiana Deputy Attorney General Andrew Swain.
At issue, a couple bucks in taxes each time a room is booked through an online travel company. Swain says it adds up quickly.
“The state and counties are losing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue,” he said.
Los Angeles was the first to file suit against online travel sites in 2004 and the vast majority have yet to be resolved.
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Source:? Mary Milz? (2009). Indiana joins fight against travel web sites, Eyewitness News http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=10512751 published Jun 11, 2009. Viewed June 11, 2009,