Did a ride operator have to collect Florida sales tax when it sold fair admission tickets as the fair association's agent?

Plain-English summary

The ride operator did not have to collect sales tax on tickets it sold as the fair association's agent. The contract appointed the operator to sell ride admission tickets for the association, required daily accounting, entitled the association to all gross proceeds, and required the operator to turn over all collected funds.

The exemption depended on whose admissions were being sold. If the central amusement attraction owner sold tickets on its own behalf, the admissions were taxable. The operator also remained responsible for collecting tax on its food and other concession sales.

What this means for you

An operator at a public fair cannot treat all of its receipts as exempt merely because it works on fairgrounds. The agency relationship and the ownership of ticket proceeds controlled the ride-admission result here.

Separate sales require separate treatment. The exempt fair-association tickets did not shelter the operator's taxable food or concession transactions.

Common questions

Q: Why were the ride tickets exempt? The operator sold the fair association's admissions as its contractually appointed agent, and the association was entitled to all ticket proceeds.

Q: What if the ride operator sells admissions for itself? Those ticket sales are taxable under the Department's determination.

Q: Were food and concession sales exempt too? No. The operator remained responsible for collecting tax on those sales.

Q: Did fairground vendor reporting make the fair association collect a vendor's tax? No. Section 212.13(6) required information reporting but did not make the association responsible for tax owed by a concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.02(1) — definition of admissions
• Fla. Stat. § 212.04(1) — tax on admissions
• Fla. Stat. § 212.08(7)(jj) — fair-association exemption
• Fla. Stat. § 212.13(6) — fairground concessionaire and vendor reporting
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 — Technical Assistance Advisements

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 97A-076

Original ruling text

Nov 19, 1997

Re: Technical Assistance Advisement 97A-076 Sales and Use Tax Admissions for Fair Associations Section 212.08(7)(jj), F.S. Section 212.13(6), F.S. XXX Inc. ("Taxpayer") XXX ("Fair Association")

Dear :

This is in response to your letter of June 9, 1997, requesting a technical assistance advisement (TAA) regarding whether sales tax must be collected on behalf of the fair association.

FACTS

Taxpayer entered into a contract with the Fair Association, which is a Fair Association pursuant to section 616.08, F.S., and section 212.08(7)(jj), F.S. The contract and addendum are included. The Fair Association appointed the Taxpayer its agent for the purpose of selling ride admission tickets to the Fair Association's fair. The Taxpayer agreed to provide an accounting daily of the ride ticket sales. The Fair Association is entitled to all of the gross proceeds from the sale of tickets and to the net proceeds after payment of expenses. All funds collected by the Taxpayer are to be paid over to the Fair Association. The Taxpayer agreed to provide a proper mix of kiddie and adult amusement rides and shows, including a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and music ride. The Taxpayer agreed to pay 25 percent up to $25,000 of the midway gross, with a 5 percent increase of each $25,000 increment of increase in midway gross sales thereafter, but not to exceed 40 percent of the total midway gross sales. The Fair agreed to furnish all licenses and permits, water, toilets, security police, suitable grounds, and daily cleaning of the grounds. The Taxpayer will clean the midway area and pay for the dumpster cost of the

midway. The Taxpayer agreed to provide holding tanks for the gray water. The Taxpayer agreed to pay $4,000 toward entertainment.

QUESTION

Is the Taxpayer responsible for collecting sales tax on admission charges?

YOUR POSITION

It is your position that the taxpayer is a sales agent of the Fair Association acting on its behalf, and no sales tax is due on admission charges pursuant to section 212.08(7)(jj), F.S.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Section 212.04(1), F.S., states in part:

(1)(a) It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that every person is exercising a taxable privilege who sells or receives anything of value by way of admissions.

(b) For the exercise of such privilege, a tax is levied at the rate of 6 percent of sales price, or the actual value received from such admissions, which 6 percent shall be added to and collected with all such admissions from the purchaser thereof, and such tax shall be paid for the exercise of the privilege as defined in the preceding paragraph. . . .

Section 212.02(1), F.S., states:

(1) The term "admissions" means and includes the net sum of money after deduction of any federal taxes for admitting a person or vehicle or persons to any place of amusement, sport, or recreation or for the privilege of entering or staying in any place of amusement, sport, or recreation, including, but not limited to, theaters, outdoor theaters, shows, exhibitions, games, races, or any place where charge is made by way of sale of tickets, gate charges, seat

charges, box charges, season pass charges, cover charges, greens fees, participation fees, entrance fees, or other fees or receipts of anything of value measured on an admission or entrance or length of stay or seat box accommodations in any place where there is any exhibition, amusement, sport, or recreation, and all dues and fees paid to private clubs and membership clubs providing recreational or physical fitness facilities, including, but not limited to, golf, tennis, swimming, yachting, boating, athletic, exercise, and fitness facilities, except physical fitness facilities owned or operated by any hospital licensed under chapter 395.

Section 212.08(7)(jj), F.S., states:

(jj) Fair associations.--Also exempt from the tax imposed by this part is the sale, use, lease, rental, or grant of a license to use, made directly to or by a fair association, of real or tangible personal property; any charge made by a fair association, or its agents, for parking, admissions, or for temporary parking of vehicles used for sleeping quarters; rentals, subleases, and sublicenses of real or tangible personal property between the owner of the central amusement attraction and any owner of amusement devices and amusement attractions, as those terms are used in ss. 616.15(1)(b) and 616.242(3)(a) and (i), for the furnishing of amusement devices and amusement attractions at a public fair or exposition; and other transactions of a fair association which are incurred directly by the fair association in the financing, construction, and operation of a fair, exposition, or other event or facility that is authorized by s. 616.08. As used in this paragraph, the terms "fair association" and "public fair or exposition" have the same meaning as those terms are defined in s. 616.001. This exemption does not apply to the sale of tangible personal property made by a fair association through an agent or independent contractor; sales of admissions and tangible personal property by a concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee; or rentals and subleases of tangible personal property or real property between the owner of the central amusement

attraction and a concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee, except for the furnishing of amusement devices or amusement attractions, which transactions are exempt. (Emphasis supplied)

Section 212.13(6), F.S., states:

(6) Any fair association subject to chapter 616 which leases or licenses its real property to, or allows its assets or property to be used by, any concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee shall distribute to the concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee a form suggested by the department which requests, at a minimum, the name, business address, and telephone number of the concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee; its sales tax registration number; and the amount of the daily revenue that it receives as a result of activities and sales on the fairgrounds or as a result of the use of the assets or other property of the fair association. Each vendor, concessionaire, exhibitor, or licensee that uses a fair association's real property or other assets shall complete and submit such a form to the management of the fair association daily within 24 hours after the close of a day's business, and the fair association shall make the completed forms available to the department as requested by the department. The failure of a vendor, concessionaire, exhibitor, or licensee to complete and submit such a form must be reported to the department by the fair association within 24 hours after the form becomes due. This subsection does not require the fair association to be responsible for collecting or remitting the tax owed by any such concessionaire, vendor, exhibitor, or licensee.

DETERMINATION

If a central amusement attraction owner sells the tickets on its own behalf, the sales of the admission tickets are taxable. However, if a fair association contracts with the central amusement attraction owner to sell ride admission tickets as an agent on behalf of the fair, the sale of the tickets is exempt. Although admissions as defined in section

212.02(1), F.S., are taxable pursuant to section 212.04, F.S., the admissions here are exempt under section 212.08(7)(jj), F.S., which provides that the agents are not liable to collect sales tax on the admissions of the fair association. Here, the contract and the addendum provide that the taxpayer is to be the agent of the Fair Association. The Taxpayer is responsible for collecting tax on all food and other concession sales as provided in sections 212.08(7)(jj), F.S., and 212.13(6), F.S.

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 advise 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 advise is based, may subject similar future transactions to a different treatment than expressed in this response.

You are further advised that this response and your request are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., which are subject to disclosure to the public under the conditions of Section 213.22, F.S. Your name, address, and any other details which might lead to identification of the taxpayer must be deleted by the Department before disclosure. In an effort to protect the confidentiality of such information, we request you notify the undersigned in writing within 15 days of any deletions you wish made to the request or response.

Sincerely,

Charles Wallace
Senior Tax Specialist
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution

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