Horry County has received more than $1 million as part of a settlement agreement reached with 14 online travel companies and their affiliates over litigation stemming from local taxes paid on hotel rooms.
That settlement was signed at the end of March after county administrator John Weaver briefed Horry County council members in executive session and they agreed to end the case, according to Lisa Bourcier, county spokeswoman.
Bourcier said the announcement - made Friday - was withheld until the $1.7 million settlement was wired to the county. The money was received within the past two weeks.
Weaver is expected to discuss with the council ways to use the money at Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting, according to Bourcier. She did not want to elaborate on what specific options would be presented before the meeting.
Both Horry County and the city of Myrtle Beach sued a group of online travel companies for failing to pay accommodations and hospitality taxes. The defendants in the lawsuit include Hotels.com, Hotwire, Expedia and Orbitz.
Representatives from several of the travel websites could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.
"The settlement is intended to compromise disputed claims, however, the defendants are not admitting any liability for any taxes claimed in the pending lawsuit and any payments made by the defendants are not for the purpose of paying past or future taxes," Weaver said in a written statement. "Horry County is also not admitting that hotel local accommodation taxes were not due in the pending lawsuit or for the past or future.
"Both parties have agreed to enter into the settlement in order to put to rest the uncertainty and expense of continued litigation."
Myrtle Beach hasn't yet reached a settlement over its lawsuit with the travel websites, city manager Tom Leath said Friday.
"We are still working," he said. "We are talking to them."
North Myrtle Beach settled with the same companies in 2010 for $192,600, while Charleston received $657,000 and Mount Pleasant got $50,400.
On April 26, the town of Hilton Head Island received $350,000 after settling with the online companies.
Both Horry County and Hilton Head's settlements followed a S.C. Supreme Court ruling that called for Travelscape, owner ofExpedia.com, to pay $6.3 million to the S.C. Department of Revenue for failing to pay sales taxes on proceeds from hotel bookings in the state.
Weaver said at the time that the Supreme Court's ruling would strengthen the local cases.
Staff reporter Dawn Bryant contributed to this report.
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