University considers challenge to city tax

University officials are evaluating whether a court ruling paves the way to save the Athletics Department more than half a million dollars a year in taxes to the city of College Park, potentially setting up a showdown between the administration and the College Park City Council.

The ruling, made in June by the state Court of Special Appeals, exempted intercollegiate lacrosse games at Johns Hopkins University from Baltimore City’s admissions and amusement tax, levied on admission price, concessions and merchandise. Last year, the Athletics Department paid $550,000 in admissions and amusement tax to the city of College Park.

But College Park Mayor Andrew Fellows told The Gazette moving forward could put the city and the university in an “adversarial position.”

“It’s not very amusing,” District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said, adding that the city only receives $5,000 from the university — the same amount it received when it was first incorporated. He said when the city asks the university for additional funding, the university consistently cites the admissions and amusement tax as a reason the funding doesn’t need to be increased.

According to the ruling, the university could prove exempt if the gross receipts from an athletics event are used exclusively for educational purposes. Officials think there is a sound basis for taking a closer look at the university’s eligibility.

“Athletics have been recognized as part of the educational mission of universities for a long time,” Vice President for Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie said. “That’s how they fall under Title IX, for example.”

But university officials still aren’t sure whether to follow in Johns Hopkins’ footsteps and bring their case to court. Wylie said university officials need more time to decide if their case is strong enough to win, and that negotiations with the city are also still ongoing. City officials have protested the potential loss of a sizable chunk of their $13.3 million budget.

The university is already exempt from many city taxes, and the city still fronts $800,000 a year to provide services for students, many of which are incurred as a direct result of game-day chaos such as traffic and trash.

While the city is projecting revenues will be down almost $2 million next year and the university has been hit particularly hard by cuts handed down by the state, Wylie insists any question of who is more worthy of the revenue is not at hand.

“The issue is whether or not the university, by law, should pay this tax or not,” she said.
A summary of the ruling provided by the Comptroller of Maryland’s office shows that Johns Hopkins University successfully presented a number of points to the court to prove their athletic event’s educational benefit. Some of these points ring true for Maryland, but others do not.

The summarized points range from the argument that “intercollegiate athletic contests are well attended and create a lot of school spirit” and that “intercollegiate athletic contests are tied to the university’s identity” to the fact that the money from lacrosse games goes to a general fund for the school and that all students are permitted access to the fields.

This university’s Athletics Department is self-supporting, and intramural sports do not share fields or funding with the department. But the outflow of school spirit at Terp athletic events is not in question.

“When it’s fall, everyone’s all about football. Maryland school spirit is definitely tied to athletics. We’re so proud of them,” said Jasmine Garry, a sophomore cell and molecular biology and genetics major. “More than Johns Hopkins, I think.”

apino at umdbk dot com