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B-172621 1 (1973-04-04)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadbvg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 15( UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 ovl pGENRAL- COUNSMAPaL17 8-172621 APR 4 173 Mr. Joseph Podoreek 388 Jenny Drive Newbury Park, California 91320 Dear Mr. Podorsek: Reference is made to your letter dated February 26, 1973, requesting iImormation as to whether a Government employee per- forming travel incident to his official duties is subject to State and local motel and hotel taxes. In order to be exempt from State taxation the Government- ast show that the legal incidence of the particular tax in- volved falls directly on the Government. It has been held that a State sales tax, the legal incidence of which falls on the buyer, does not infringe the constitutional immunity of the Government where it is deterained that the Government is not in fact th purchaser within the meaning of the tax statute. Alabamat. King and Boozer, 314 U.S. 1 (1941). When an employee of the Government secures a hotel room or other lodging while traveling on official busines the Government is not ordinarily a party C the transaction. The fact that the Government is obligated to reimburse the employee for his travel expenses and thereby assumes the economic burden of the tax does not in general make it a tax upon the United States. It may therefore be said that in general employees of the Government are not legally exempt from the payment of State and local taxes levied upon motel and hotel rooms. However, it may be noted that we are aware of five localities which permit an exemption from hotel and motel occupancy taxes whes Government employees travel on Government business. Those localities are Baltimore, Karyland; Cleveland, Ohio; Los Angeles, California; New York, New 'ork; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Employeas of this Office have been requested to use tax exemption certificates when on temporary duty at these locations.

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