Bears demand meeting with Daley administration about amusement tax
TICKETS | City trying to tax those who got PSL from original owner
It's been nearly a decade since the Bears and City Hall put past tensions aside and cut the deal that ended the team's 30-year quest for a new stadium.
But, it might be time to dig up the hatchet they buried.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
The Bears are demanding a meeting with the Daley administration to find out why the city is trying to retroactively apply its nine percent amusement tax to roughly 1,000 permanent seat license holders at Soldier Field who were not the original PSL owners.
"We certainly have an opinion, but it's one we want to talk with them about first," said Bears spokesman Scott Hagel, holding his tongue.
Bears season ticket-holders are furious about the demand because they consider it double-jeopardy. The nine percent amusement tax already applies to the face value of game day tickets. Now, they're being asked to pay twice.
A nine percent tax applied to a $10,000 PSL would cost the license holder $500.
Revenue Department spokesman Ed Walsh countered, "We don't consider it double-taxation. Our position is, the license is part of what you're paying to access the amusement. There's the ticket amount and the PSL. The total is what's subject to the tax."
Desperate for revenue to erase a threatened $300 million year-end shortfall, the Daley administration made a surprise request during an annual audit of the Bears' books to reconcile amusement tax revenues.
They wanted the names of all PSL "transferees" since 2004. That is, license holders who either purchased or received their licenses from the original owner.
The renovation of Soldier Field was financed, in part, by the sale of PSLs, which give the license holder the right to purchase season tickets for specific seats.
PSLs covered 45 percent of the stadium's 62,000 seats and sold for anywhere from $900 to $10,000.
A certified May 13 letter sent to a Bears season ticket holder states, "You were party to a transaction wherein a ... permanent seat license was transferred to you. Such a transaction is subject to the Chicago amusement tax as the amount paid was for the privilege of witnessing an amusement in the city."
The PSL holder is asked to complete and return an attached affidavit "that will assist us in determining the amount to bill for this transaction."
If the affidavit is returned within 45 days and the debt is paid 30 days after billing, "The amount ... will include only the tax amount due," the letter states. If not, a 12 percent annual interest and penalties will be applied.
Walsh said the letter was sent to 1,000 PSL "transferees" because the Bears collected the amusement tax from original license holders.
"If there were some that didn't [pay], that's one of the purposes of the mailing. If someone didn't pay the tax originally, they'd be subject to that now," he said.