Orbitz, Expedia Seek Congressional Help In Fight On Room Taxes | cnn.com
Online travel booking firms including Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (OWW) and Expedia Inc. (EXPE) are asking Congress to resolve in their favor a legal dispute with cities and counties over hotel occupancy taxes. The online firms are seeking to add a provision to economic stimulus legislation pending in the U.S. Senate, that limits their exposure to the taxes. The firms have battled lawsuits from cities including Houston and Louisville, Ky., claiming that the companies underpaid hotel bed taxes. The online firms have been quietly lobbying for Congress to step in since last year, but the controversy broke into the open when the provision turned up this week on a Senate Finance Committee staff draft list of possible items being considered for a stimulus bill.
