expedia1Expedia and other big online travel agencies may be looking at higher tax expenses thanks to a recent push by state legislators.

Bloomberg reports that The National Conference of State Legislatures is recommending that states consider requiring these online companies to pay occupancy taxes based on full rental prices paid by customers rather than the rate that Expedia and others have negotiated with the hotels.

States like New York and North Carolina have already passed laws that require payment on the full prices and agree that the online travel agencies put local hotels at a disadvantage with their current model.

However, companies like Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz argue that they should not pay extra taxes because the difference between the full price and the wholesale price they pay hotels to list available rooms can be considered a service fee for facilitating the transactions, they say.

Shares of Expedia took a dive late last month following the Bellevue company’s latest earnings announcement which showed a 27 percent decline in adjusted net income.

Previously on GeekWire: Rich Barton, Spencer Rascoff and others bankroll online vacation rental startup … Florida court hands victory to Expedia, other online travel companies over lodging tax 

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