Were museum admission fees exempt from South Carolina admissions tax because the museum was housed in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina Private Letter Ruling 88-13 held that admission fees to a museum were subject to admissions tax even though the museum was located inside a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The statutory exemption covered admissions to a historic property or attraction itself. The Commission concluded that visitors paid to enter the museum, not for the purpose of viewing the historic Columbia Mill Building that contained it.

The building's historic status therefore did not make the museum's separate admission charge exempt.

The museum and its building

ABC Museum was scheduled to open in October 1988 in the Columbia Mill Building. The structure, formerly the Mount Vernon Textile Mill, was built in 1894 and was listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

The building also housed the Greater Columbia Visitors Center, the South Carolina Tax Commission, and the State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, along with a large atrium and lobby.

The question was whether the building's National Register status extended to paid entry into the museum located inside it.

The admissions-tax rule

Section 12-21-2420 imposed admissions tax on paid admissions to places of amusement in South Carolina.

Section 12-21-2410 defined admission as the right or privilege to enter or use a place, and defined a place as a definite enclosure or location.

Subsection 12-21-2420(9) exempted admissions to properties or attractions named to the National Register of Historical Places.

Why the historic-property exemption did not apply

The ruling cited the federal description of the National Register as including districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture.

The Commission strictly construed the exemption. It found that the museum fee was not charged for viewing a listed building or object. It was charged for admission to the museum as an attraction inside the building.

Because the paid admission was to the museum rather than the registered property itself, the fee remained taxable.

What this means for you

Museums in historic buildings

PLR 88-13 separated the tax status of the building from the tax status of the attraction inside it. Occupying a National Register building did not automatically exempt museum admission.

Historic sites and attractions

The exemption addressed admission to the listed property or attraction. The purpose of the admission charge mattered to the Commission's analysis.

Cultural and nonprofit organizations

The ruling did not base the result on whether the museum was nonprofit. It applied the admissions-tax statute and the narrow historic-property exemption.

Venue and ticketing teams

The relevant question was what right the visitor purchased: entry to the historic property itself or entry to a separate place of amusement located there.

Readers applying the ruling today

PLR 88-13 applied 1988 admissions-tax language to a particular museum and building. Current tax definitions, exemptions, National Register status, ticket structure, and use of the property must be checked independently.

Common questions

Q: Were ABC Museum's admission fees exempt?

A: No. The Commission held that the museum fees were subject to admissions tax.

Q: Was the Columbia Mill Building historically listed?

A: Yes. The ruling stated that the 1894 building was on the National Register of Historical Places.

Q: Why did the listing not control?

A: Visitors paid to enter the museum, not for the purpose of viewing the listed building or object.

Q: Would admission charged specifically to view a listed property present the same facts?

A: No. The ruling's conclusion depended on the fee being for the museum rather than for viewing the National Register property itself.

Q: Did other occupants of the building matter?

A: They supported the ruling's description of the museum as one use inside a larger building, but the conclusion focused on what the admission fee allowed visitors to enter.

Q: Can another museum rely on PLR 88-13?

A: No. The ruling states that it applied only to ABC Museum's specific facts, had no precedential value, and was not intended for general distribution.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code section 12-21-2420(9) (1976) — admissions tax and National Register exemption
• S.C. Code section 12-21-2410 — definitions of admission, place, and person
• 16 U.S.C. section 470a(1)(A) — National Register composition quoted in the ruling
• Owen Industrial Products, Inc. v. Sharpe, 274 S.C. 193, 262 S.E.2d 33 (1980); Hollingsworth on Wheels, Inc. v. Greenville County Treasurer, 276 S.C. 314, 278 S.E.2d 340 (1981); and York County Fair Association v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 249 S.C. 337, 154 S.E.2d 361 (1967) — strict construction of exemptions
• S.C. Code section 12-3-170 (1976) and SC Revenue Procedure 87-3 — private-letter-ruling authority

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/PLR88-13.pdf

Original ruling text

SC PRIVATE LETTER RULING #88-13

TO:

ABC Museum

SUBJECT:

Admissions Fees - Museum
(Admissions Tax)

REFERENCE:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-21-2420(9) (1976)

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-3-170 (1976)
SC Revenue Procedure #87-3

SCOPE:

A Private Letter Ruling is a temporary document issued to a taxpayer,
upon request, and it applies only to the specific facts or circumstances
related in the request. Private Letter Rulings have no precedential value
and are not intended for general distribution.

Question:
Will admissions fees to the ABC Museum be subject to the admissions tax or will such fees be
exempt pursuant to Code Section 12-21-2420(9)?
Facts:
The ABC Museum is scheduled to open in October of 1988. The museum is housed in the
Columbia Mill Building. This structure, formerly the Mount Vernon Textile Mill, was built in
1894 and is on the National Register of Historical Places.
Also housed in the Columbia Mill Building are the Greater Columbia Visitors Center, the South
Carolina Tax Commission and the State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The
building also contains a large atrium/lobby area.
Discussion:
Code Section 12-21-2420 imposes the admissions tax "upon all paid admissions to all places of
amusement within this State." Code Section 12-21-2410 defines the following:
(1)

The word "admission" means the right or privilege to enter into or use a place or
location;

(2)

The word "place" means any definite enclosure or location; and

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(3)

The word "person" means individual, partnership, corporation, association; or
organization of any kind whatsoever.

Subsection (9) of Code Section 12-21-2420 exempts from taxation "...admissions to properties or
attractions which have been named to the National Register of Historical Places." The issue is
whether the exemption pertains to the Columbia Mill Building or extends to the State Museum,
which is located therein.
The Historic Preservation Program is administered by the Department of the Interior which
maintains a National Register of Historic Places, designates properties as historic landmarks, and
establishes a selection criteria and a nomination process. Section 470a(1)(A) of Title 16 of the
United States Code Annotated reads:
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to expand and maintain a National Register of
Historic Places composed of districts, sites, buildings, structures,and objects significant in
American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture.(Emphasis added)
Further, as a general rule, tax exemption statutes are strictly construed against the taxpayer.
Owen Industrial Products, Inc. v. Sharpe, 274 S.C. 193, 262 S.E. 2d 33 (1980) Hollingsworth on
Wheels, Inc. v. Greenville County Treasurer et al, 276 S.C. 314, 278 S.E. 2d 340 (1981). This
rule of strict construction simply means that constitutional and statutory language will not be
strained or liberally construed in the taxpayer's favor. York County Fair Association v. S.C. Tax
Commission, 249 S.C. 337, 154 S.E. 2d 361 (1967).
Conclusion:
The exemption from the admissions tax at Code Section 12-21-2490(9) is on paid admissions to
"districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects significant in American history, architecture,
archeology, engineering and culture" and named to the National
Register of Historic Places. The fees in question are not for the purpose of viewing a building or
object on the National Register of Historical Places. Therefore, fees to enter the State Museum
are subject to the admissions tax.
SOUTH CAROLINA TAX COMMISSION
s/S. Hunter Howard, Jr.
S. Hunter Howard, Jr., Chairman
s/John M Rucker
John M. Rucker, Commissioner
s/A. Crawford Clarkson, Jr.
A. Crawford Clarkson, Jr., Commissioner
Columbia, South Carolina
, 1988
June 23

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