Council OKs Talks on Tax On Athletics

For the past 21 years, resident and former council member Roland Giduz periodically has petitioned the town to enact a sales tax on UNC event tickets to generate additional town revenue.

The request was put on Monday's consent agenda as part of a package the council plans to discuss with local legislative delegates. Giduz petitioned town officials Feb. 11 to establish a tax specifically on tickets to UNC athletics events.

Giduz said a reasonable sales tax on UNC football and basketball tickets will provide crucial money for the town.

According to his filed petition, a tax, less than the existing sales tax levy, on big-ticket sports entertainment could produce $1 million a year in revenue. "A reasonable increase would not affect attendance," Giduz said. "The one thing that's going to affect attendance is the performance of the team."

Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said he thinks a modest sales tax on tickets would not decrease game attendance.

"Whether (the tax) is $1 or $20, they're going to come anyway," he said.

Council member Bill Strom said the option should be considered, especially in light of the fact that the town could be facing a $1.4 million budget shortfall. "The town is in a budget crunch of historical proportions," he said. "The notion that the University wouldn't be harmed in any way I think is a credible argument."

But University athletics officials said charging an additional tax on UNC athletics event tickets would do more harm than good. "As a financial standpoint, the (Department of Athletics) is primarily self-supporting," said Martina Ballen, senior associate athletics director for business and finance. "If we had to add on an additional tax, that would drastically affect our program because it would take away revenue from our program."

State officials said they have discussed the issue of a sales tax in the past but the negative impact on the University has limited supportive legislative action. "I think it's fair to say that the University hasn't supported (the tax)," said Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange. "(But) I think the legislative delegation is relatively open about the idea."

Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, said establishing a sales tax on UNC athletics event tickets would affect the entire UNC schools system. "When we levy taxes on any establishment, it could end up impacting other institutions as well," he said. "There is the issue of whether it will be implemented on a local or state level."

Lee also said the fact that the state is also facing a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall might augment the tax's negative impact on the University. "I think it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get this through the state legislature.

"(But) we would be willing to discuss this with the town further."

The City Editor can be reached

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