Your guide to L.A.’s Measure TC: tax on hotel bookings by online companies

Hotel operators sell rooms to online travel companies at a discounted rate, and the companies then charge a markup to consumers.

By law, online companies pay taxes on the price they paid for a room but are not required to factor in the higher price they charge the consumer, said City Councilmember Tim McOsker, a proponent of Measure TC.

The city’s transient occupancy tax, also known as a bed or hotel tax, is 14% of the room rate. Measure TC, if passed, could raise $5 million per year for sidewalk and street repairs, parks and other necessary services, according to city estimates.