Gwinnett agrees to partial hotel-motel tax settlement

The Gwinnett County Commission Tuesday agreed to a partial settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a group of local governments against several online travel companies.

The federal lawsuit seeks to recover hotel/motel excise taxes the governments say they’re due. Under the settlement terms, the travel companies agreed to pay taxes on the incremental difference between how much they pay for a room and what they charge customers for the same room, beginning May 16, 2011. In the past, some companies have not paid taxes on the difference.

A federal judge must still approve the settlement.