Hawaii adds $70 million penalty in tax case against major online travel companies
Skift Take
Online travel agencies now owe Hawaii a huge bill to comply with the state's general excise tax, and Hawaii hasn't even won the battle over hotel occupancy taxes yet. Hawaii, which is such a rich vacation market for the OTAs, is giving them a big migraine.
Popular travel sites are being told to pay Hawaii a $70 million penalty for skirting state general excise taxes over the past 10 years.
A tax appeal court has ruled that online travel companies including Orbitz Worldwide Inc., Priceline.com Inc., Sabre Inc.'s Travelocity, and Expedia Inc., including its subsidiaries Hotels.com and Hotwire, have been selling hotel rooms online for years without paying the necessary taxes.
Company representatives did not immediately return requests for comment late Tuesday.
The court ruled in January that the companies, which are based in states including Washington, Texas, Ill
