COLUMBUS – A group opposed to the week-old ticket tax in Columbus is taking petitions to City Council Monday calling for a city charter amendment to be put on the November ballot that would repeal the tax and prohibit the city from enacting any others.
Advocates for Responsible Taxation – ART — has gathered 18,000 signatures, 7,000 more than required, calling on council to place the issue on the ballot that would end the two new 5 percent taxes on arts, sports and entertainment ticket sales and prohibit them in the future.
”The objection to the tax started with: Columbus City Council refused to take this to the voters and the reason they refused to take it to the voters is they knew how unpopular it was,” said Bret Adams, spokesman for the group.
One tax is expected to raise $6 million annually for arts groups. It will apply to performances and sporting events costing more than $10 a ticket at venues with more than 400 seats, except for Nationwide Arena.
The other tax will be added to tickets for events at that arena, such as concerts and Blue Jackets hockey games. It’s expected to generate $2.4 million a year for arena improvements and $600,000 for the arts.
Adams says for-profit venues will be forced to raise prices to pay a tax to support non-profit organizations that compete against them for audiences and that the tax will hurt attendance at events.
Supporters, including the Greater Columbus Arts Council, pushed for the tax, saying that the arts were publicly underfunded.