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Six Flags Ohio: Der Staat bittet zur Kasse
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Link zum Beitrag #118424 Verfasst am Donnerstag, 13. Januar 2005 00:39
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Sind Achterbahnen und Karussells von der Steuer befreit?
Zitat Court to Six Flags: Pay up
By:Justin Maynor

Staff Writer
01/10/2005
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Rides ruled to be subject to sales, use taxes; ex-park owners plan appeal

A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling could mean Six Flags Inc. will have to pay Geauga County more than $2.5 million in personal property taxes on rides at the Bainbridge Township park.

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At issue before the court was whether three rides at the park would be considered real or personal property for the purposes of taxation.

The court found in a 4-3 decision released Dec. 22 that the Grizzly Run, Mind Eraser and Skyscraper rides were "business fixtures" rather than real property, and therefore subject to sales and use taxes assessed by the state tax commissioner in the late 1990s.

Oklahoma City-based Six Flags sold the park last year to Cedar Fair LP, whose parks include Cedar Point in Sandusky.

Six Flags had appealed the assessments to the state Board of Tax Appeals, contending that the rides were "structures" as defined by Ohio Revised Code, and thus exempt from sales and use taxes.

The code defines a structure as "a permanent fabrication or construction, other than a building, that is attached or affixed to land, and that increases or enhances utilization or enjoyment of the land."

Though the decision pertains directly to sales and use tax assessments made by the state, Geauga County Auditor Tracy Jemison said the decision might clear the way for the county to collect $2,557,215 in unpaid taxes.

That number, Jemison said, reflects audit additions from 1999 through 2003.

"This appeal relates to a sales tax issue," Jemison said.

With the appeal pending, the county has been unable to collect assessed personal property taxes on the rides, he said.

"While I consider this good news, and definitely a good ruling on what is personal and what is real property, this still could take time," Jemison added.

Jemison said the company will still have the right to appeal each audit addition to the Bureau of Tax Appeals before money can be collected.

The court's decision hinged on whether the rides primarily benefited the land itself, or the business of the park, according to the majority opinion written by Justice Frances E. Sweeney.

"The evidence presented to the BTA showed that the rides in question were installed to attract customers for the amusement-park business," Sweeney wrote.

"The fact that the customers enjoy the rides has nothing to do with whether the rides benefit the land. There was no evidence that the rides would be of any benefit to a buyer of the land who engaged in a different business."

Six Flags attorney Steven A. Dimengo said the opinion defines personal property too broadly.

"It's hard to believe that the court majority meant what it said," Dimengo said in a prepared statement.

"The majority opinion would treat a manufacturing plant, a shopping mall, and a sand-and-gravel pit as personal property. Although it was a sales tax case, the property tax ramifications are perhaps the most important aspect. This case will wreak a very major change in the way property taxes have been assessed up to now."

Dimengo said Six Flags has filed a motion for reconsideration and expects to appeal pending audit additions to the state Bureau of Tax Appeals.


©The News-Herald 2005

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