Were admissions to a public-university festival held at public beach venues subject to Florida sales tax?

Plain-English summary

The Florida Department of Revenue concluded that admission charges for the specified culinary-festival events held at public beach venues were not subject to sales and use tax.

The university was a governmental entity, operated the festival, bore the risk of failure, and was the sole beneficiary of the proceeds. The events were held at publicly owned recreational facilities and did not exclusively use student or faculty talent. On those facts, the Department said the admissions qualified under section 212.04(2)(a)2.b.

What this means for you

Governmental event sponsors

The exemption depends on the event sponsor, venue, financial risk, and talent conditions stated in the statute. A public sponsor alone is not the complete test.

Festival operators and ticket sellers

Keep records showing who operates the event, who bears the risk, where the event is held, and whether the event relies exclusively on student or faculty talent.

Common questions

Q: Were the festival admission charges taxable?
A: No, for the specified events at the public beach venues.

Q: Did the ruling exempt every event run by the university?
A: No. The response addressed the identified festival venues and the facts presented in the request.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.04(2)(a)2.b.
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 14A-019

Original ruling text

Executive Director
Marshall Stranburg

QUESTION : ARE ADMISSIONS PAID TO A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY FOR AN EVENT LOCATED
ON A PUBLIC BEACH SUBJECT TO SALES AND USE TAX?
ANSWER: NO.
September 5, 2014
Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement – TAA 14A-019
Taxability of Admissions to a Festival
Sales and Use Tax
Section 212.04(2)(a)2.b., Florida Statutes (F.S.)
XXXXX (the Taxpayer)

Dear XXXXX:
This is in response to your letter dated XXXX, requesting this Department’s issuance of a Technical
Assistance Advisement (“TAA”) pursuant to Section 213.22, F.S., and Rule Chapter 12-11, Florida
Administrative Code (F.A.C.), regarding the taxability of certain printed materials. An examination of
your letter has established that you have complied with the statutory and regulatory requirements for
issuance of a TAA. Therefore, the Department is hereby granting your request for a TAA.
ISSUE
The issue is whether the certain payments (to the Taxpayer) for admission to the (Festival) are subject to
sales and use tax.
FACTS AS STATED
The Taxpayer XXXX. It owns and operates XXXX. The Taxpayer, for the benefit of the XXXX, has
organized and administered the Festival. The Festival features a culinary series of events attended by
XXXX guests per year that showcases the nation’s most renowned chefs, culinary personalities, wine,
spirits and restaurant exhibitors. All of the Festival events are ticketed events, and all revenues and all
expenses are administered through an auxiliary unit of the Taxpayer.
The Taxpayer is the sole operator of the Festival and all of the risk of failure rests with the Taxpayer.
Further, the Taxpayer is the sole beneficiary of the proceeds and, all of the proceeds are used for the
benefit of the School. The Taxpayer does not exclusively use faculty and/or student talent with regard to
the festival exhibitions and events it presents.
Child Support Enforcement – Ann Coffin, Director  General Tax Administration – Maria Johnson, Director
Property Tax Oversight – James McAdams, Director  Information Services – Damu Kuttikrishnan, Director

www.myflorida.com/dor
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0100

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 2
Your request specifically concerns ticket sales made for admissions to XXXX and XXXX venues. You
assert the ticketed venues are located on the XXXX beachfront (the XXXX venue requires access from
XXXX and the XXXX requires access through the XXXX trail).
TAXPAYER POSITION
It is your position that the ticket sales relating to venues located on the XXXX beachfront are not subject
to sales and use tax pursuant to s. 212.04(2)(a)2.b., F.S.
LAW AND DISCUSSION
Section 212.04(2)(a)2.b., F.S., provides:
No tax shall be levied on admission charges to an event sponsored by a governmental entity, sports
authority, or sports commission when held in a convention hall, exhibition hall, auditorium,
stadium, theater, arena, civic center, performing arts center, or publicly owned recreational facility
and when 100 percent of the risk of success or failure lies with the sponsor of the event and 100
percent of the funds at risk for the event belong to the sponsor, and student or faculty talent is not
exclusively used. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the terms “sports authority” and “sports
commission” mean a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal income tax under s.
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that contracts with a county or municipal government
for the purpose of promoting and attracting sports-tourism events to the community with which it
contracts.
It is clear that any of the admissions for the XXXX venues qualify for the exemption mentioned above. A
governmental entity (the Taxpayer) sponsors an event located on a publicly owned recreational facility.
Further, the risk of loss rests with the Taxpayer.
RESPONSE
The payments of admissions for the XXXX venues (as part of the Festival) are not subject to sales and use
tax.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under Section 213.22, F.S., which is binding
on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in the request for this advice as
specified in Section 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated on those facts and the specific situation
summarized above. You are advised that subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes, or judicial
interpretations of the statutes or rules, upon which this advice is based, may subject similar future
transactions to a different treatment than expressed in this response.

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 3
You are further advised that this response, your request and related backup documents are public records
under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S.
Confidential information must be deleted before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality,
we request you provide the undersigned with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance
Advisement, the backup material and this response, deleting names, addresses and any other details which
might lead to identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be received by the Department within
15 days of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,

R. Clay Brower
Revenue Program Administrator
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
(850) 717-6306
RCB/
Ctrl# 168095