Hillsborough County Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Rex Barbas last week struck down the $1.50 per room per night marketing fee which had produced around $1M annually in incremental revenue for the 13 hotel members of the Hillsborough County Hotel and Motel Association.
The ruling came about as a result of a lawsuit filed by former FL House Speaker Richard Corcoran who had argued that the fee violated the FL constitution, which requires local jurisdictions to get legislative approval before imposing taxes on economic activity.
