The city of Port Arthur filed multiple lawsuits against five area motels on Monday, alleging the defendants neglected to turn over hotel occupancy taxes collected last year.
The suits, filed March 7 in Jefferson County District Court, allege the defendant hotels collected the occupancy tax from December 2010 to January 2011, but refused to turn the money over to the city, as required by law.
The hotel occupancy tax is a tax is imposed on a person who pays for a room or space in a hotel costing $15 or more each day.
The suits name the following motels:
The city is asking the courts to issue an injunction against the defendants until the tax is repaid.
City Attorney Valecia Tizeno represents Port Arthur.
Case Nos. B189-545, E189-546, A189-547, D189-548 and B189-549