As previously reported, Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold was seeking legislation that would require online travel companies to pay taxes on the room rates they are charging consumers, not the discounted rates at which they purchase the rooms.  The Anne Arundel County Council recently approved the legislation. County Executive Leopold plans to sign the bill this week and it will go into effect 45 days later.  As reported by the Baltimore Business Journal:

“This is an issue of tax fairness,” Leopold said in the statement. “The county was collecting taxes based on the wholesale price paid for hotel rooms, rather than the retail price charged to online customers. I want to thank the council for recognizing this disparity and closing this tax loophole.”