Minor League Team Wants Exemption

OHIO – The Toledo Mud Hens, a minor league team who plays in the International League, and the Ohio Department of Taxation are not in agreement over the team’s tax exempt status.

The Toledo Mud Hens Baseball Club, Inc. is setup as a nonprofit but according to the Department of Taxation that doesn’t exempt the team from paying sales taxes on purchases. They collect sales tax on customer purchases.

The exemption would apply to purchases made by the nonprofit corporation, not to food, drinks, and souvenirs bought by fans.

The Ohio Department of Taxation ruled they were not exempt from sales tax and now have an overdue bill of half-million dollars, including interest, that covers the years 2002 – 2005 .

Toledo Mud Hens appealed the decision.

Joe Napoli, general manager of the Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye said, “we have not been paying sales taxes since 1965, when the club was formed as an Ohio not-for-profit corporation, but because of the uniqueness of the corporation, we wanted to clear up any confusion. It also puts us on the same footing as the Columbus Clippers, which was structured the same way and is also exempt.”

Local legislators are proposing changes to the law that would codify the team’s tax-exempt status.