Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has sued Expedia and Orbitz, the leading Internet travel companies, saying they failed to pay the right amount of taxes on hotel room rentals.

The lawsuit states that while the companies have been collecting these taxes from consumers all along, they have only been giving a portion of the money to taxing authorities, keeping the rest as profit.

This practice allegedly illegal and denies the state millions of dollars every year in tax revenue – money that could be used for the benefit of the public.

“Consumers are already paying ‘taxes and fees’ when purchasing a Florida hotel room online, yet the online travel companies have been keeping too much of those taxes as profit,” McCollum said in a statement. “If these taxes are due to the state, the companies should pay them for the benefit of the people of Florida.”

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