Travel Web site shorted city, court says

ATLANTA • The Georgia Supreme Court concluded Monday that the online travel company Expedia Inc. has shortchanged a west Georgia city on hotel and occupancy taxes.

The court's 4-3 ruling - the first such decision by Georgia's top appellate court - found that Expedia must collect hotel occupancy taxes from its customers and pay them to the city of Columbus.

An attorney representing Columbus said the ruling doesn't say whether Expedia owes back taxes, and said that issue may be decided by a lower court.

While the Georgia court's ruling doesn't apply to cases in other states, city attorneys say it could bring fresh momentum to dozens of other lawsuits around the country brought by frustrated officials who say the online travel scheme is depriving them of tax dollars.