Oct. 17, 2018
HARRISBURG – To help ensure fairness within the travel industry, Rep. Marguerite Quinn (R-Bucks) has secured House approval of her legislation that would update and clarify the collection of the hotel occupancy tax from online travel companies.
“When a consumer books a room through an online travel company, he or she naturally would believe that hotel occupancy tax would be paid on the room rate he or she is paying, but that may not always be the case,” said Quinn. “Sometimes the hotel tax is levied, collected and remitted on the agreed-to wholesale price, rather than the actual price paid. That not only shortchanges our local tourism agencies but also confuses the consumer.”
House Bill 1511 would level the playing field by applying the state sales and the local hotel occupancy tax to the full price paid by the consumer at point of sale for booking the hotel room, inclusive of any additional fees or markups that an online travel company charges customers for booking the hotel room. Online travel companies (OTCs) include Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, to name a few.
Additionally, the legislation would modernize terms regarding OTCs in the Pennsylvania Tax Code, which has not been updated to reflect online lodging transactions.
The bill would also establish a Tourism Promotion Fund (Fund) within the Treasury Department and require that the tax collected by a booking agent on accommodation fees be deposited into the Fund and disbursed upon appropriation for the purpose of promoting tourism across the Commonwealth. This would also apply to any applicable county hotel tax.
Travel-related organizations throughout the Commonwealth, such as the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, Visit Pittsburgh, the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, Visit Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau support this legislation.
The bill, which was amended by the Senate earlier this week, now goes to the governor for his consideration.
Representative Marguerite Quinn
143rd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jennifer Keaton
(717) 705-2094
jkeaton@pahousegop.com
RepQuinn.net /
Facebook.com/RepQuinn