Are Online Travel Companies Cheating Taxpayers?

Orange County government leaders said online travel companies are cheating taxpayers. They claim online travel companies, like Expedia and Orbitz, are not giving counties all the tourist tax money they collect and a proposed state law would allow them to keep doing that.

Eight million dollars in bed taxes should go to Orange County a year, but Commissioner Bill Segal said the county is losing out on it, hurting tourism and residents.

“Horrible idea, they're basically robbing the coffers of Orange County. This money is due to Orange County. Everybody else has to pay it. They're going to skate on it," Segal said.

Here's how it works. If Expedia.com pays $50 for a hotel room, the customer turns around and pays $100 on that same room. Expedia only pays the county a tourist tax on the $50.

A proposed bill in the legislature would allow it to continue. One of the bill's sponsors was Representative Jimmy Patronis out of Panama City.

Orange County attorney Tom Drage said one of his constituents is an online travel company.

"I think he believes the online travel companies help tourism," Drage said.

Drage thinks Disney and Universal believe the same thing. Both companies supported the bill, he thinks, in fear of an Expedia blackout similar to one that happened in Columbus, Georgia after it won a lawsuit to keep its tourism money.

Orange, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard and Polk counties are all involved in similar lawsuits, fighting to collect the $60 million to $100 million they believed are owed in back taxes. The tax money goes to promote tourism in the area and pay for projects like the downtown Orlando venues.

WFTV contacted Disney and Universal, but were not able to get a statement. Representative Jimmy Patronis and Senator Mike Haridopolos, who sponsored the bill for two years, were both in session and unable to comment.

Orange County attorney Tom Drage thinks, if the bill passes, it probably won't be until next year.