ARKANSAS, USA — The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that online travel companies don’t have to pay local tourism taxes before 2019, ending a nearly 15-year legal dispute between OTCs and government agencies in Arkansas.
The state Supreme Court decision reversed a ruling from Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Wyatt, who ruled in favor of cities, counties and advertising and promotion commissions in 2022. In 2023, Wyatt awarded the government agencies $34.2 million in damages and penalties, plus $11.5 million in attorneys’ fees and costs.
Arkansas counties, cities and advertising and promotion commissions had alleged that for years the OTCs such as Hotels.com, Hotwire, Expedia and Travelocity shorted tax revenue to the agencies because the OTCs remitted taxes based on the room price they negotiated with hotels.
To read more about the ruling, our content partner Arkansas Business has the full article here.
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