Ohio tax plan hits concerts, sports and even bowling | The Bellevue ...

By JOHN SEEWER

Asso?ci?ated?Press

TOLEDO (AP) ? Expand?ing Ohio?s sales tax might take some of the fun out of going to con?certs, foot?ball games and amuse?ment?parks.

Gov. John Kasich wants to cut the state?s over?all sales-tax rate while also putting the lower 5 per?cent sales tax on a long list of new items that include cir?cuses, arcade games and car?ni?val?rides.

Admis?sion to fairs, muse?ums, and theme parks would fall under Ohio?s sales tax for the first time too. So would tick?ets to pro, col?lege and high school games.

The gov?er?nor is propos?ing sweep?ing changes in the way Ohio taxes busi?nesses and indi?vid?u?als in his two-year bud?get that still must be approved by law?mak?ers. Kasich?s plan includes reduc?ing income, small busi?ness and sales taxes to stim?u?late job growth.

At the same time, his pro?posal tacks on Ohio?s sales tax to attor?ney fees, cable TV and pet groom?ing as well as enter?tain?ment options.

?By broad?en?ing this tax, by broad?en?ing it, we?re actu?ally bring?ing greater fair?ness to the sys?tem,? Kasich said last?week.

Adding the sales tax on arts, enter?tain?ment, and recre?ation alone is pro?jected to bring in $85 mil?lion to the state gov?ern?ment over the com?ing two?years.

It?s also likely to add to the cost of see?ing a ball?game or a?play.

Some enter?tain?ment busi?nesses and sports teams will pass the costs onto ticket buy?ers and cus?tomers while oth?ers are likely to absorb the costs, fear?ing that a price increase will drive away business.

?There has to be a decrease some?where, either in my prof?its or cus?tomers,? said Eric Bates, pres?i?dent of Bates Broth?ers Amuse?ments Co., which is based in Win?tersville in east?ern Ohio and sup?plies car?ni?val rides to fairs and festivals.

He wor?ries that some cash-strapped county fairs won?t sur?vive if they?re forced to give up 5 per?cent of their gate fees to the government.

?I don?t know that it?s wise at this time,? Bates?said.

Bowl?ing alley owner Marty Teifke agreed that it would hurt to pay a tax on lane rentals.

?It?s not easy to raise prices, and the econ?omy is not the best around here? said Teifke, who runs Tim?bers Bowl?ing in Maumee near Toledo. ?It scares me to hear?this.?

Most enter?tain?ment busi?nesses and groups that would be affected by a wider sales tax are still try?ing to fig?ure out what the impact might be and how they?ll respond, includ?ing Cedar Fair Enter?tain?ment Co., own?ers of Cedar Point amuse?ment park in San?dusky and Kings Island near Cincinnati.

Both parks have fought against past attempts by local gov?ern?ments that have tried to tax tick?ets and parking.

The addi?tion of a 5 per?cent state sales tax on admis?sions would amount to $2.75 on the price of a $54.99 Cedar Point ticket at the?gate.

A $22 Cincin?nati Reds ticket in the upper deck ticket would gen?er?ate $1.10 for the?state.

Close to 70 cities and vil?lages in Ohio already have some sort of admis?sion tax with most com?ing in at 3 per?cent. Cleveland?s is at 8 percent.

Tick?ets for high school sports wouldn?t be exempt from the governor?s proposal.

Jim Stoyle, ath?letic direc?tor at Cen?ter?burg High School north of Colum?bus, said he would want the cost of admis?sion to go up. ?That?s the one thing I hate in sports today,? he?said.

Game tick?ets at the school now are $6 for adults and $4 for stu?dents. He?s con?cerned that fam?i?lies would be stretched thin if the price goes up, espe?cially for those with sev?eral chil?dren play?ing, and that the teams would suf?fer as?well.

?Most of our high school ath?letic pro?grams sur?vive on ticket gate sales,? Stoyle said.

Com?mu?nity the?ater groups would face the same decisions.

?There wouldn?t be much choice but to pass along a sales tax increase to the cus?tomers,? said Tom Neff, board pres?i?dent of the Cha?grin Val?ley Lit?tle The?ater out?side Cleve?land. ?Peo?ple would under?stand it?s part of what you would have to do. I don?t think there?s any way around it.?

Asso?ci?ated Press writer Ann San?ner in Colum?bus con?tributed to this report.

Source: http://thebellevuegazette.com/ap-news/ohio-tax-plan-hits-concerts-sports-and-even-bowling/

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