CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A lengthy lawsuit from multitudes of plaintiffs including the Cities of Charleston, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Myrtle Beach and many others against more than 20 defendants accuse many lodging companies such as AirBnB and HomeAway of evading tax obligations.
In the complaint filed on April 9 in the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas, the plaintiffs say that the defendants have failed to pay the fees and taxes associated with their rental accommodations, nor have they obtained a business license or paid the annual business license fee.
The taxes associated with accommodation services like AirBnB includes local, municipal, tourist development and beach preservation accommodation taxes ranging from 1% to 3%.
Other plaintiffs include the City of Charleston, the City of North Charleston, Charleston County, the City of Isle of Palms, the City of Folly Beach, the City of Columbia, the City of Myrtle Beach and the Town of Hilton Head.
Defendants include AirBnb, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and many others.
The plaintiffs are represented by Thurmond Kirchner and Timbes PA of Charleston, W. Ronald Bonds of Isle of Palms and Michael Y. Saunders of Houston.