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Expedia, Tripadvisor to Pay Pinellas Tax Collector

Travel | Online Travel | Tourism

These tourist development tax collections will begin Oct. 1 thanks to new agreements between the Pinellas tax collector and the online travel companies.

PINELLAS COUNTY – Online travel companies have agreed to pay tourist development taxes to the Pinellas County Tax Collector.

The collection of tourist development taxes from the online companies come as the result of partnerships between the tax collector’s office and the companies. In 2015, the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s
Office became the first in the state to pen a tourist development tax collection agreement with Airbnb.

Beginning Oct. 1, TripAdvisor and Expedia, along with their subsidiaries HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, FlipKey.com, VacationHomeRentals.com, VacationRentals.com, HouseTrip.com, HolidayLettings.co.uk, and Niumba.com will begin paying the tax.

“By working with online travel companies, we are doing our part to help our vital tourism industry weather this difficult challenge,” Pinellas County Tax Collector Charles W. Thomas said. “We have pursued agreements for years, and recently, these online companies realized how much of a benefit it is to the property owners if those owners do not have to handle the taxes themselves. We are grateful for our new partners and look forward to working with them.”

Charles Thomas

Without these new collection agreements, property owners would be required to collect and remit the taxes on their own.

The tourist development tax, also known as the bed tax, is a 6 percent tax on accommodations such as hotels and private homes rented for six months or less. In Pinellas County, the county commission determines where these tax dollars go. One of the primary recipients is the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which promotes and advertises tourism for Pinellas County.

Despite concerns about red tide, the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s Office is still on track for record-setting tourist development tax Collections during the 2018 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. As of July 31, it had collected $52.45 million, a 9.25 percent increase over 2017.

For information about tourist development taxes, including detailed reports, go to taxcollect.com.

Pinellas Tax Collector | Charles Thomas | Bed Tax | Tourist Tax | Tampabay News

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