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Hawaii’s attorney general on Wednesday said the state has recovered more than $53.1 million in general excise tax, penalties and interest from nine online travel companies, following a final judgement by the state Tax Appeal Court.

The online travel companies include Travelocity.com, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline.com, according to Attorney General Doug Chin. The tax litigation began in 2011 after the state tax department issued GE tax and TAT assessments against the online travel companies for back taxes starting from 2000 in 2010. The online travel companies refused to pay, arguing their revenue generating activities did not occur in the state of Hawaii.

“Online travel companies derive substantial profits from the sale of hotel rooms, rental cars and other services in Hawaii. The importance of the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling is the precedent it establishes. People or companies who provide goods and services through the Internet that are used or consumed in Hawaii are subject to Hawaii taxation, despite being domiciled in other states,” said Chin.

http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/state-wire/hawaii-recovers-531m-general-excise-taxes-online-travel-companies [westhawaiitoday.com]

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