The Pellucid Perspective - December 2011 - (Page 16)

THE LAST WORD We could use your help D uring my interview with Cincinnati City Solicitor John Curp for the story of two potentially landmark tax decisions that appears on page 2 of this magazine, Curp expressed surprise that no other golf industry publication had called about such potentially volatile issues. I have my own ideas why no association publications called, but I was not at all surprised that The Pellucid Perspective was the only industry publication that recognized the potential impact of the Cincinnati situation, and was not afraid to write about it. I invite everyone to read the story for more detail, but basically the issues in question are tax complaints filed by a Cincinnati golf course owner which challenged the city of Cincinnati’s exemption from sales/use and property taxes on their seven city-owned courses. To date, all tax review boards have ruled against the city, based on the fact that the city’s courses are managed by a for-profit company, Billy Casper Golf in this case. Ohio’s tax laws require that for a municipality Industry needs independent voice It seems likely that cities who are outsourcing their golf course operations to a for-profit operator, or considering it, may want to keep a wary eye on the Ohio decisions. or other public entity to claim exemption from those taxes, the property or enterprise in question must be solely for public use and benefit. At the risk of anticipating the final tax commission and Ohio Supreme Court rulings, it seems likely that Cincinnati will eventually lose on both issues, and will have to adjust their agreement with Casper or any other for-profit operator to meet the exemption requirements. It will be interesting to see how they do that. The decisions could conceivably resonate throughout the U.S. golf industry. Where state tax laws contain provisions similar to Ohio’s, other private owners could conceivably file similar tax complaints to those filed by Hillview Golf Course owner Paul Macke in Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, the property taxes alone could amount to $2 million per year. It seems likely that cities who are outsourcing their golf course operations to a forprofit operator, or considering it, may want to keep a wary eye on the Ohio decisions. If we are correct that the implications of the Cincinnati situation could impact other municipal golf operations, I am not surprised that the association publications representing the course owners, PGA members, superintendents or other industry stakeholders have either ignored or remained blissfully ignorant of the situation. It is relatively standard practice on their parts to avoid controversial issues which might irritate any elements of their constituency. When our publisher, Jim Koppenhaver, entered the industry more than a decade ago, he decried the tendency of golf ’s associations and information vendors such as the National Golf Foundation to serve as cheerleaders for the industry, regardless of the reality of the numbers or other factors. As a publication, we have based The Pellucid Perspective on Jim’s original tenet. Our goal is not to be naysayers, but to present independent, fact-based coverage of industry business news and issues. If that news is not always good, at least the more observant among our readers will be forearmed, and can adjust their business practices and forecasts accordingly. We feel we have lived up to those goals through our first 16 issues. For that opportunity, we sincerely thank our charter sponsors, whose financial support has enabled us to present our alternative voice. As 2012 dawns, however, we find ourselves in need of additional support in order to keep that voice alive. We do not charge for subscriptions, and we do not have the luxury of being supported by association membership dues as many of our theoretical competitors do. Our advertising sponsorship rates have recently been reduced and are extremely reasonable, particularly in view of our distribution to nearly 25,000 industry constituents representing every industry category. (Sponsors may also distribute the magazine to their own proprietary list of clients, employees or business contacts at no charge). If your company finds independent and factbased research and news coverage beneficial to your business decision-making, and you would like to be associated with a publication that offers both, either Jim Koppenhaver or I would love to hear from you, the sooner the better. We both get quite enough spam already, so I won’t put our contact information here, but you can find it on page 3. —Jim Dunlap Thanks for your support. december 2011 16 The Pellucid PersPecTive

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - December 2011

The Pellucid Perspective - December 2011
Municipal owners beware! Landmark ruling due in Ohio
Are no-shows the hidden assassin?
Dismissing weather impact: A cunningly clueless concept
Living in the past
If you promote it, they may come
November weather impact: Good month for the Sunbelt
Philadelphia, PA Core Business Statistical Area (CBSA)
Surprise, resort developer favors new resort!
We could use your help

The Pellucid Perspective - December 2011