Are ride tickets for portable funhouse amusements at a county fair subject to New York's admission-charge sales tax?

Plain-English summary

Strates Shows operates amusement rides at the Erie County Fair under an exclusive agreement with the fair's organizer. Beyond the regular Fair gate admission, visitors pay separately for ride tickets to use Strates Shows' 64 amusement rides, including four "funhouses" (portable structures built on semi-trailers — Monkey Maze, Persian Camel, King's Circus, and Mario Land) that guide patrons along a fixed route using motorized floor plates, conveyor belts, or (in the Monkey Maze) a maze of distorted mirrors ending in a spiral slide. Operators keep patrons moving along the route and don't let them linger.

New York taxes "admission charges" to a "place of amusement," but courts have held that a "place of amusement" means the physical space in which entertainment is provided — not the individual amusement device itself. The Department applied that precedent here: a portable funhouse is an amusement ride or device, similar to a Ferris wheel or merry-go-round, not a distinct "place of amusement." So the price paid for a ticket to enter and ride through a funhouse is not a taxable admission charge under § 1105(f)(1) — it's a charge for the use of a ride, following the same rule already applied to Strates Shows' other rides and to a prior 1994 ruling on a similar amusement device.

What this means for you

Fair and carnival ride operators

Ticket sales for individual amusement rides and ride-like devices — including funhouses, mazes, and similar walk-through attractions — are not subject to New York's admission-charge sales tax, as long as the device functions as a ride/device rather than a standalone venue. This is distinct from the Fair's own general gate admission charge, which is a separate admission-charge question not addressed by this ruling.

Fair organizers structuring gate admission vs. ride tickets

Keeping ride tickets priced and sold separately from gate admission (as this ruling's facts describe) supports treating the ride tickets under the amusement-device rule rather than as a taxable place-of-amusement admission.

Accountants and tax professionals

The controlling test is whether the charge is for entry to a "place" (a defined physical venue) versus for the use of a ride or device — a useful framework for any new attraction type (escape rooms, walk-through mazes, interactive exhibits) that doesn't map neatly onto either category.

Common questions

Q: Are funhouse ride tickets taxable in New York?
A: No — courts and the Department treat a funhouse as an amusement device, not a "place of amusement," so tickets to use it aren't a taxable admission charge.

Q: Does this cover the Fair's general gate admission too?
A: No, this Opinion addresses only the separately sold ride tickets for the funhouses, not the Fair's own gate admission charge.

Q: Can other fair/carnival operators rely on this ruling?
A: No. It binds the Department only for the petitioner and facts described; other operators should confirm their attraction functions the same way (a ride/device, not a distinct venue) before relying on it.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Tax Law §§ 1101(d)(2), (9), (10) (admission charge; patron; place of amusement)
• Tax Law § 1105(f)(1) (tax on admission charges)

Cases and prior rulings referenced:

• Fairland Amusements v State Tax Commn., 110 AD2d 952, revd 66 NY2d 932
• Bathrick Enterprises v Murphy, 27 AD2d 215, affd 23 NY2d 664
• Meltzer, Lippe, Wolfe, Schlissel & Sazer, P.C., TSB-A-94(24)S

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_2007.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/a07_5s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

TSB-A-07(5)S
Sales Tax
February 8, 2007

Office of Tax Policy Analysis
Technical Services Division
STATE OF NEW YORK
COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE
ADVISORY OPINION

PETITION NO. S061017C

On October 17, 2006, the Department of Taxation and Finance received a Petition for
Advisory Opinion from Strates Shows, Inc., P. O. Box 174, Orlando, Florida 32802.
The issue raised by Petitioner, Strates Shows, Inc., is whether admissions to certain
funhouse amusements are subject to sales tax.
Petitioner submits the following facts as the basis for this Advisory Opinion.
Petitioner is a Delaware corporation in the business of providing amusement rides, food,
and novelty concessions at state and county fairs primarily in the eastern half of the United
States. Each year during the month of August, the Erie County Agricultural Society, Inc.
(ECAS) operates an agricultural fair (the Fair) that attracts approximately 1 million visitors over
a 12-day period to the fairgrounds in Hamburg, New York.
For the past several years, Petitioner has been granted the exclusive right by ECAS to
operate amusement rides at the Fair. For the 2006 Fair, Petitioner operated a total of 64
amusement rides, such as Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, and the like. A number of the
amusement rides are owned by independent contractors that have entered into operating
agreements with Petitioner.
Patrons are only allowed entry to the Fair by purchasing an admission ticket. Adult gate
admission for the 2006 Fair was $9.00. Pre-sale tickets were offered for sale at designated
locations for $7.00. The admission price paid to enter the Fair did not include the right to use
any of Petitioner's amusement rides. In order to use any of the amusement rides, the patron was
required to purchase ride tickets in addition to and separately from the admission price paid to
enter the fairgrounds. Entry onto an amusement ride required 2 to 5 tickets, depending on the
ride. Petitioner also offered a “pay-one-price” promotion which gave patrons the right to full­
day access to the rides for $20.00 ($17.00 with a coupon) in addition to and separate from the
admission price paid to enter the Fair.
The ride tickets were used to admit patrons to four funhouse amusements, Monkey Maze
Funhouse, Persian Camel Funhouse, King’s Circus Funhouse, and Mario Land Funhouse, in
addition to Petitioner's other amusement rides.
Each funhouse is a portable structure built on a semi-trailer platform that erects into a
funhouse facility. With the exception of the Monkey Maze Funhouse, the patron makes his or
her way through a fixed route with the assistance of motorized devices (i.e., mechanical floor
plates and conveyor belts). In the Monkey Maze Funhouse, the participant follows a fixed route

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Sales Tax
February 8, 2007

of distorted mirrors that ends with the person exiting by means of a spiral slide. Petitioner's
funhouses are monitored by operators to ensure that a patron is being conveyed and directed over
a fixed route in an expeditious manner. Once a patron enters a funhouse, he or she is kept
moving with the assistance of motorized or gravity-assisted devices. Patrons may not remain in
the funhouses for an unlimited amount of time.
Applicable law
Section 1101(d) of the Tax Law provides, in part:
When used in this article for purposes of the tax imposed under subdivision (f) of
section eleven hundred five, the following terms shall mean:
*

*

*

(2) Admission charge. The amount paid for admission, including any service
charge and any charge for entertainment or amusement or for the use of facilities
therefor.
*

*

*

(9) Patron. Any person who pays an amusement charge or who is otherwise
required to pay the tax imposed under such subdivision (f) of section eleven hundred five.
(10) Place of amusement. Any place where any facilities for entertainment,
amusement, or sports are provided.
Section 1105(f)(1) of the Tax Law imposes a sales tax on admission charges and
provides, in part, as follows:
Any admission charge where such admission charge is in excess of ten cents to or
for the use of any place of amusement in the state, except charges for admission to race
tracks, boxing, sparring or wrestling matches or exhibitions which charges are taxed
under any other law of this state, or dramatic or musical arts performances, or live circus
performances, or motion picture theaters, and except charges to a patron for admission
to, or use of, facilities for sporting activities in which such patron is to be a participant,
such as bowling alleys and swimming pools. . . .
Opinion
Petitioner provides amusement rides, food, and novelty concessions at state and county
fairs. In 2006, Petitioner operated a total of 64 amusement rides at the Erie County Fair. Patrons
of the Fair paid an admission charge to enter the fairgrounds, and, once admitted, could purchase

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Sales Tax
February 8, 2007

tickets to allow the patron to use Petitioner's various amusement rides and devices. Among the
various amusement rides and devices that patrons could use by purchasing these tickets were
four funhouse amusements: Monkey Maze Funhouse; Persian Camel Funhouse; King’s Circus
Funhouse; and Mario Land Funhouse. Petitioner's funhouses are monitored by operators to
ensure that a patron is being conveyed and directed over a fixed route in an expeditious manner.
Once a patron enters the funhouse, he or she is kept moving through it by motorized or gravity­
assisted devices. Patrons may not remain in the funhouses for an unlimited amount of time.
Section 1105(f)(1) of the Tax Law imposes sales tax on admission charges to or for the
use of any place of amusement in New York State. The term place of amusement has been
interpreted by the courts as meaning the physical space within which the amusement is provided.
Accordingly, the definition of a place of amusement in section 1101(d)(10) of the Tax Law, i.e.,
“Any place where any facilities for entertainment, amusement, or sports are provided,” does not
include amusement rides. See Fairland Amusements v State Tax Commn., 110 AD2d 952, 954
(Mikoll, J., dissenting), revd 66 NY2d 932. Petitioner's funhouses are amusement devices or
facilities similar to amusement rides rather than places of amusement. See Bathrick Enterprises
v Murphy, 27 AD 2d 215, affd 23 NY 2d 664; Fairland Amusements v State Tax Commn., supra.
Thus, the purchase price of tickets for admission to the funhouses is not an admission charge to a
place of amusement but a charge for the use of portable amusement rides. Therefore, Petitioner's
sales of tickets for the use of the funhouses described in this Opinion are not subject to the sales
tax imposed under section 1105(f)(1). See Meltzer, Lippe, Wolfe, Schlissel & Sazer, P.C., Adv
Op Comm T & F, June 8, 1994, TSB-A-94-(24)S.

DATED: February 8, 2007

NOTE:

/s/
Jonathan Pessen
Tax Regulation Specialist IV
Technical Services Division

The opinions expressed in Advisory Opinions are
limited to the facts set forth therein.