The City of Washington, D

question 176

Essay

The city of Washington, D.C. filed suit against online travel companies for not paying the full amount of sales tax due on the rooms their customers use while in D.C. The online travel companies charge their customers the 14.5% sales tax on the full price of the room, but pay D.C. only 14.5% on the amount the travel services actually paid for the room. The online travel companies maintain that the sales tax rules are not clear, so they pay only on the actual charges, not the full retail cost of the rooms. Discuss the ethical issues you see in the online travel companies' position on the sales tax.

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Definitions:

Unit Price

The price of a single unit of measure of a product or service.

Tissues Per Box

The count of individual tissue pieces contained within a single box packaging.

Population

The total number of individuals within a specified area or group, often used in statistics and research.

Gasoline Price

Gasoline price is the cost per unit volume of gasoline, typically measured in per liter or per gallon, which can vary based on crude oil prices, refinery costs, taxes, and other factors.