Vegas-area county joins room tax fight against online firms
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The county with jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip has joined a legal fight to try to collect what attorneys maintain could be hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid hotel room taxes owed by more than 20 online travel companies. A lawsuit by Clark County echoes claims raised last year by two Las Vegas communications executives against online booking services including Orbitz, Hotwire, Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline and Hotels.com. An attorney said Tuesday that the amount in dispute could be $200 million in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest. Defendants’ representatives didn’t immediately respond to messages or declined comment about the case.