Opinion ID: 1119040
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Cities May Impose a Municipal Sales Tax On Sales of Ski Lift Tickets Within The Cities as Receipts For The Use Or The Privilege Of Using Recreational Facilities.

Text: Sinclair argues that the district court erred in concluding that the receipts from the sale of ski lift tickets within the respective Cities are taxable as receipts for the use or the privilege of using facilities for recreational purposes. According to Sinclair, the taxable event under the Cities' ordinances is the use of the ski lift tickets and not the sales transaction. Sinclair contends that because the taxable event, the use of the ski lifts, occurs outside of the geographical boundaries of the Cities, the Cities may not impose a sales tax on the sales. [1] We find Sinclair's argument unpersuasive. Initially, it should be noted that in City of Sun Valley, we concluded that the ski lifts are facilities used for recreational purposes under I.C. § 63-3612(f) and that the lift ticket charges are taxable under that provision and under the Cities' sales tax ordinances. City of Sun Valley, 123 Idaho at 670-71, 851 P.2d at 966-67. We have held that a sales tax, is not a tax on property, but rather it is an excise tax or a levy on certain transactions designated by statute. Boise Bowling Ctr. v. State, 93 Idaho 367, 370, 461 P.2d 262, 265 (1969). The statutorily designated transaction at issue is set forth at I.C. § 63-3612(f). The Cities, in imposing a sales tax on specific transactions, adopted provisions that are for all relevant purposes identical to those set forth in I.C. § 63-3612. The ordinances impose a sales tax on [r]eceipts from the use of or the privilege of using tangible personal property or other facilities for recreational purposes. Ketchum City Sales Tax Ordinance No. 493, § 2(J)(6); Sun Valley Municipal Sales Tax Ordinance § 3-1-2; see I.C. § 63-3612(f). The unambiguous terms of the provisions declare that the event which triggers the imposition of a sales tax is either the receipt from the use of, or the receipt from the privilege of using, facilities for recreational purposes (the ski lifts). Unlike the other taxable transactions that focus on a specific activity to trigger the taxable event, the ordinances' provisions that impose a sales tax on the sale of ski lift tickets, specifically refer to receipts received by the vendor of the ski lift tickets. It is only at the point of sale that receipts from the use of or the privilege of using the ski lift are obtained, and it is only at the point of sale that the purchaser obtains the privilege of using the ski lifts. Thus, contrary to the argument asserted by Sinclair, the provisions at issue do not impose a tax on the activity of using the ski lifts and engaging in the sport of downhill skiing, rather, it is the sales transaction that is the taxable event. We conclude that it is the sales transaction from which the receipt is received and not the activity of using the ski lifts that is the event subject to taxation under I.C. § 63-3612(f) and the corresponding provisions of the Cities' ordinances. Thus, to the extent the receipts are collected from sales of ski lift tickets within the Cities' geographical boundaries, the receipts are subject to taxation, not only under the Idaho Sales Tax Act, but also under the Cities' sales tax ordinances.