Batt

In Batt v. City and County of San Francisco (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 65 [ 65 Cal.Rptr.3d 716 ], we held that an individual could not maintain a class action for refund of a municipal tax absent statutory authorization. Unquestioned in our decision was the right of that individual to prosecute the action on her own behalf. That individual, plaintiff Angel Batt, thereafter had a bench trial on her claim that the City and County of San Francisco (the City) improperly required hoteliers to apply the City's hotel tax to parking charges, challenging the validity of the administrative regulation that required collection on the grounds that it was not a proper tax on the "occupancy" of a hotel room. The trial court rejected her claim, upholding as valid the application of the City's hotel tax to parking charges. We agree, and we affirm.

Plaintiff is a resident of San Mateo County. On August 6, 2005, she drove to San Francisco and stayed overnight at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. In addition to what she was charged for the room, she was charged $55 for parking her automobile. Of the $55, $7.70, or 14 percent, was imposed pursuant to the City tax on the transient occupancy of hotel…