Online Travel Companies Win Another Round In Fight Over Occupancy Taxes
The Tax Foundation toted up the score on these cases in a paper by Joseph Henchman early this year noting that over the past decade state and local governments in 34 states, the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico have filed lawsuits against the likes of Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline and Travelocity. Overall the online companies have been winning prevailing in 39 cases in 23 states while losing in ten cases in six states and the District of Columbia. We should probably score this one as a win for the online companies.
The Tax Foundation seems to lean a bit to my theory that all this litigation is something of a white-collar jobs program.
IRS Says Fixing Up Your Own House Is Not Charity
For better or worse, 501(c) status has significance beyond federal income tax.It can be relevant for property tax and sales tax exemptions and be a requirement for an organization to be able to serve liquor or run gambling operations in some jurisdictions. And then there is the, in my view, extra dose of credibility that 501(c) organizations have along with the ability to access certain types of grants.
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Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.