The Louisiana Court of Appeal held that online travel booking companies were not “dealers” required to collect sales taxes. The Louisiana Department of Revenue and various localities sued the booking companies for only collecting tax on the wholesale rate charged by the hotels rather than the retail rate charged to customers, which included a service fee. The court held that the booking companies were not liable for the additional tax because Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:301(14)(a) requires that the taxable furnishing of sleeping rooms be done “by hotels,” and the booking companies are not hotels. Further, the service fee charged by the booking companies was not a charge for an enumerated taxable service in Louisiana.
Robinson v. Priceline.com, Dkt. No. 2023 CA 0069, (La. Ct. App. 2024).