Sales and Use Tax
Admissions Tax
Amounts Collected by Municipal Corporations, Calendar Year
2002
Municipal corporations are permitted to levy a tax on
admissions to places of amusement or entertainment. The tax
is generally charged as a percent of the cost of entrance to
entertainment events such as movies, theme parks, and
professional sports, as well as on country club dues. The
exceptions to this are: the Village of Middletown (Butler
County) and the Village of Burton (Geauga County) which
charges 25¢ per ticket to a local festival; and the City of
Reynoldsburg (Franklin County) whose tax only applies to
"coin operated amusement devices". The tax cannot be imposed
on admissions charged to events sponsored by public
institutions such as college or high school sporting events.
There are five municipalities that did not submit calendar
year 2002 data so their prior year’s collections are shown.
This resulting total of all 2002 admission tax collections
was $22.0 million. Assuming the five non-reporting
municipalities still had the admissions tax in effect in
calendar year 2002, a total of 68 municipalities (53 cities
and 15 villages) levied the tax. Admissions tax collections
for calendar year 2002 ranged from $210 in the City of
Warrensville Heights (Cuyahoga County) to $12.1 million in
the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County). Tax rates ranged
from 1.5 percent to 8.0 percent. Approximately 74 percent of
the admissions taxes reported were at a 3 percent tax
rate.