N.C. Appeals Court affirms ruling against counties in Hotels.com occupancy tax fight

A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed this morning the state business court’s ruling against Wake, Mecklenburg, Buncombe, and Dare counties in an occupancy tax dispute involving Hotels.com and other online travel companies. The counties had contended that the online travel companies charged their customers a higher rate for hotel rooms than the discounted rate negotiated with hotels, but submitted an occupancy tax based instead on the discounted rate. The three-judge panel rejected the counties’ arguments.

Among other opinions released this morning from the N.C. Court of Appeals:

• A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a ruling from the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings upholding WakeMed’s certificate of need for its plan to move to its Raleigh campus two specialty ambulatory operating rooms from Southern Eye Opthalmic Surgery Center. Two WakeMed competitors had challenged the plan.
• A unanimous three-judge panel reversed a trial court and ruled in favor of Cumberland County’s decision to permit the TigerSwan firing range on a 978-acre site in an agricultural district.
• A unanimous three-judge panel reversed the N.C. Property Tax Commission and ruled against the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation in a property tax dispute with Avery County.