Correction: A story Sunday in the print version of the Kitsap
Sun on a proposed admissions tax for Port Orchard listed the wrong
amount of revenue the tax could generate. The correct amount is
around $85,000 per year, of which Regal Cinemas would pay around
$81,600 annually.
Incorrect information on businesses affected was listed. Movie
theaters, carnivals and establishments charging a cover fee for
entertainment would be subject to the tax. Schools, sporting events
and nonprofit organizations would be exempt.
Poulsbo was omitted from the list of local jurisdictions that
currently charge admission tax.
PO Council to Vote on Admissions Tax
By Chris Henry
PORT ORCHARD
The Port Orchard City Council on Monday will vote on an
ordinance to establish a 5 percent admissions tax that is projected
to generate approximately $85,000 annually. The idea has been under
discussion since August.
Background on the city’s admission tax dates to 1989, when
Kitsap County was proposing to impose its own 5 percent tax. If
cities located in a county do not impose an admissions tax, the
county can collect within corporate limits.
The cinema on Mile Hill, now called South Sound Cinema 10, came
to the city and asked to be incorporated. The cinema worked with
the city to institute a one-tenth of one percent tax that was then
seen as more fair for small business owners. But this spring, the
city learned that one of the original owners of the cinema had sold
out to Regal Cinemas, which, according to the city, prices tickets
in Port Orchard the same as in other locations that are under a 4
or 5 percent admission tax.
Movie theaters, carnivals and establishments charging a cover
fee for entertainment would be subject to the tax. Schools,
sporting events and nonprofit organizations would be exempt.
Of the Port Orchard businesses potentially affected by the tax,
South Sound Cinemas would generate the most revenue for the city, a
projected $81,600.
Councilman Bob Geiger, who owns the Plaza Twin Cinema building,
was the lone council member expressing opposition to the idea at
the council’s Nov. 13 meeting.
Geiger has leased the building to Bainbridge Island-based Far
Away Productions, which plans to renovate the historic theater, set
to open in December.
“As you might expect, we’re opposed to the tax,” said Jeff
Brein, managing partner of Far Away, during an interview separate
from the council meeting.
Brein said pressures of the cinema industry make it hard enough
for small, independent theaters to realize a profit, without the
added burden of an admissions tax. He said cinemas such as the one
he plans to operate are an asset to downtown areas such as Port
Orchard in need of an economic boost. And he said the tax is
discriminatory.
“Why not tax hair cuts?” asked Brein rhetorically.
Geiger argued that the tax affects a small number of businesses
whose potential loss of revenue would have a negative effect on
Port Orchard’s economy.
Kitsap County, Bremerton and Poulsbo charge 5 percent admissions
tax for events, and 4 percent for theaters. Bainbridge Island, Gig
Harbor and Pierce County do not charge admissions tax.
The council earlier had looked at imposing a 1 percent amusement
tax, which would have yielded just under $85,000 in the five year
period from 2002 through 2006, as compared with the $424,186 in
revenue that would have been generated during that period with a 5
percent tax.
With the exception of Geiger, the council settled on the 5
percent by consensus. The formal vote will take place Monday.
“We’ve beat this thing around. Let’s put it to bed,” said
council member Carolyn Powers.
