Sports fans Prepare to Contest Ticket Tax
[Via Shapshots] the Free Press is reporting that Michigan govenor Jennifer Granholm and the Democratic leadership is considering an option to levy a 6% tax on tickets to all sports, music, movie and entertainment tickets. Red Wings and Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch opposes the tax.
Fans Against Ticket Taxes launched its campaign Thursday, led by Mike Ilitch, who owns the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings and the Fox Theatre, and Bill Davidson, who owns the Pistons and operates three of the biggest concert venues: DTE Energy Music Theatre, the Palace of Auburn Hills and Meadow Brook Music Festival.
The coalition is handing out flyers at Tigers games to get sports fans to contact their representatives and voice their opposition to the tax. Christy at Behind the Jersey is obviously all over this as she is easily the best reporter out of the group of bloggers who cover the Detroit Red Wings.
I received an email today from the Detroit Red Wings asking all those on the season ticket waiting list to help stop the Michigan luxury tax…
…
According to a member at the Lets Go Wings forums, GM Ken Holland sent an email out to all the current season ticket holders…
Living out of state this dosn’t specifically affect me as the number of games I see in Detroit are miniscule as I don’t make it back very often. But given how expensive tickets are to see sporting events, movies and concerts [well larger concerts - I saw a concert last night at a small bar in Chicago last night that cost $10 and didn’t inlcude any “convenience fees” or taxes or rubbish like that], there simply has to be a limit to how many surcharges and taxes you can add to the price.
This link from the Detroit Tigers website spells out how much fans who purchase tickets pay in taxes.
• $24 million per year tax on sports tickets for Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons, Lions, Michigan International Speedway, minor league baseball and hockey.
• $48 million per year tax on shows and performances like those at the Fox Theater, Palace, DTE, Meadow Brook, Purple Rose Theater and DeVos arena for shows like Sesame Street Live, Lion King, White Christmas and performances by the American Idols.
• $32 million per year tax on movie tickets to every movie in every movie theater in the state.
If $104 million isn’t enough then the state probably needs to look at other ways to generate the revenue to make up the budget deficit. If you live in the area and want to have your opinion heard, here is what the No Ticket Tax consortium suggests doing:
1. Contact the Governor, your State Representative and your State Senator. Tell them you oppose the Ticket tax. Spending time with your family is not a luxury to be taxed.
2. If you don’t know your legislators’ email or phone number, go toNoTicketTax.com. There you will find links to the Governor’s email and to email addresses and phone numbers for your State Representative and State Senator.
3. Or call 1-877-No-TK-Tax (1-877-688-5529) to get the phone numbers you need to call for the Governor and legislative leaders. Email Today…Call Today…Act Today Fans Against The Ticket Tax.
Given how motivated and opinionated sports fans tend to be I think the opposition to this tax is going to be heard loud and clear. If there was no tax on these types of tickets then perhaps you could make a case for levying the tax. But the state already rings up over $100 million per year from ticket taxes. That sounds like a big enough tax to me.
Lions No Ticket Tax Pistons Red Wings Tigers5 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
I’m definitely against the tax, but I do think it’s a little rich that the first I heard of it was from the Wings. I’m still ticked off at them for their ticket prices and they come to us hat-in-hand, shamelessly asking us to call our representatives, while they’re busy sticking a knife in the fans’ backs. Maybe it’s just me, but that strikes me as a little hypocritical.
Matt,
I agree with that sentiment 100%. I’m hopeful that the organization realizes they went too far this year, and it looks like that might be the case with them returning the money to season ticket holders for the playoff games that weren’t played. Usually the team holds onto that money and applies it to the next year’s tickets.
There is no doubt they need to lower ticket prices for the playoff games, but the idea that fans should pay another tax on top of paying for the ticket, service fees and taxes just seems like a bit much to me.
I can’t believe the governor is at it again. She completly mis-manages the budget, horribly overspends and now we have to make up for her mistakes. I am outraged that she would consider taxing sporting events, where I spend quality time with my family. Why don’t you tax acitivities that aren’t good and healthy and doesn’t bring the community together. Tell Granholm to find another way; say no to the ticket tax.
Matt, the tax isn’t on the Wings or the Pistons, it’s on us, the Fans. Someone doesn’t like the way we spend our money to go to a game or a concert. I already pay my fair share in payroll taxes, sales tax, property taxes, gas taxes, etc. Why stick the fans for another $100 million?
[…] Finally, George Malik over at Snapshots links to an article from Crain’s Detroit that the fan tax has received such strong negative response that it is “dead on arrival”. emma andersson Red Wings Tomas Holmstrom […]