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News
NYC to Charge Taxes on Internet Hotel Bookings
by Ilya Marritz
NEW YORK, NY June 29, 2009 —Mayor Bloomberg will sign a bill into law today that should bring in a lot of additional tax revenue for the city. The measure affects the booking of hotel rooms over the internet. The bill requires travel sites to always pay taxes on the full retail prices of the rooms they sell.
The city believes it's currently collecting less hotel tax than it should. That's because some travel websites pay hotel taxes based on the wholesale rate of the rooms they buy. Then, the websites charge their customers the same hotel tax on retail room rates, and pocket the difference.
A trade group representing travel web sites says the change is, quote, "exactly the wrong approach", and will result in more vacant hotel rooms.
Main Street NYC
WNYC has been following six blocks to see how the economic downturn is being experienced on the street level.
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Uncommon Economic Indicators
The Brian Lehrer Show is keeping a close eye on how the economy is affecting the little things in daily life. Share your stories and photos of the downturn.
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Financial 411
WNYC's Amy Eddings hosts a daily overview of financial news at 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Get the podcast, with highlights from the day and a preview of what you can expect tomorrow.
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Adding It Up
Community colleges are playing a growing role in American higher education. But their graduation rates have long been dismal. Students who enroll in community colleges tend to be poorer and less academically successful than students at four-year colleges. Most need remedial classes, especially in math. To see why math is such a hurdle, WNYC’s Beth Fertig spent the fall of 2009 visiting a class at LaGuardia Community College in Queens.
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