A proposal to ask Anaheim voters if the city should collect an entertainment tax died with the City Council Tuesday, Oct. 28.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava first proposed a tax in September <\/a>as a way to add a new revenue stream for the city\u2019s coffers. The proposal that emerged was to ask voters to consider ballot measures creating a 3% city tax on admission tickets to theme parks and sports and entertainment venues with a \u201ccapacity exceeding 20,000 people\u201d and a parking tax of 10% on facilities with more than 1,500 spaces.<\/p>\n Dozens of community members and leaders attended the meeting to address the dais; the city\u2019s proposed entertainment tax on theme park tickets and parking received a mixed reception.<\/p>\n Rubalcava found little support among her council colleagues and, in the end, didn\u2019t ask them to vote on whether to put the ballot measures before voters.<\/p>\n \u201cMy intention with this tax is not to hurt business,\u201d Rubalcava said. \u201cAs a fourth-generation Anaheim resident, I was elected by the people of Anaheim to ensure we are properly funding our city budget, but that we are also creating safe neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n The way the proposal is written, the tax on admission tickets to entertainment venues, often referred to as a gate tax, would have applied to Disneyland\u2019s two theme parks and Angel Stadium.<\/p>\n The proposed tax would have only applied to privately owned or operated venues, so the Anaheim Convention Center wouldn\u2019t count.<\/p>\n The Honda Center, which has a maximum capacity of 19,000 people, falls short of the capacity caveat, and none of the new entertainment venues the OCVibe project<\/a> is building around the arena would make the threshold.<\/p>\n And, parking at its three new garages<\/a> is folded into event ticket costs, so city officials said the 10% fee would not be triggered.<\/p>\n Though Angel Stadium would have the capacity, per an existing lease agreement in place through 2038, the baseball team would likely be entitled to reimbursement of any admission and parking taxes collected, city officials said.<\/p>\n City officials estimated the revenue from Disney parks attendance and parking would generate $108 million to $164 million annually toward the city\u2019s day-to-day operations, such as providing police and fire services, operating libraries and maintaining city streets.<\/p>\n One-day tickets to Disneyland start at $104 and, at the busiest times, can be more than $200. Estimates put the number of annual visitors to Disneyland Resort parks at more than 27 million.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Anaheim does not currently have an entertainment tax.<\/p>\n Instead, nearly 40% of the city\u2019s budget<\/a> is driven by a 15% tax on hotel stays.<\/p>\n This fiscal year, more than $302.8 million in taxes and fees for the city are expected to be generated from the resort area, which covers 1,100 acres and includes the area immediately surrounding the Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim Convention Center.<\/p>\n The region, bordered by Interstate 5, Vermont, Walnut and Chapman avenues, represents less than 4% of Anaheim\u2019s total area. But according to city estimates<\/a>, the area will bring the city 63% of its general fund tax revenues this year.<\/p>\n More money is expected to come from the resort area in the coming years.<\/p>\n Last year, the Anaheim City Council unanimously approved DisneylandForward<\/a>, updating the mix of theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment uses allowed on the eastern and western edges of the resort \u2013 creating the opportunity for Disney to expand its offerings within its current footprint. New lands and attractions are expected.<\/p>\n As part of that development, Disneyland has pledged $85 million for street improvements in the resort area, $30 million for affordable housing and $8 million for community park improvements.<\/p>\n Disneyland officials said they feared the proposed entertainment tax would discourage tourists, already subject to the 15% hotel tax, from visiting the area.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a concern echoed by Jeffrey Ball, president of the Orange County Business Council.<\/p>\n \u201cOur concern is that it could dissuade visitors who would normally choose to come to Anaheim. And also, once they get here, they may not spend as much money,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of small businesses and other employers that make their living on the visitation that we get to Anaheim and so much of that is centered around Disney,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we are looking at is a potential loss of jobs that really impact the whole region, not just Anaheim.\u201d<\/p>\n Ball added that he doesn\u2019t think the tax was being proposed at an \u201cappropriate\u201d time. The city is already set to free up more than $120 annually in its budget starting in 2027 when it pays off bonds it took out to expand the resort area back in the 1990s. Those funds are expected to turn the city\u2019s structural deficit into a surplus, according to city projections<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, reiterating her fellow councilmembers\u2019 comments, said she was open to exploring options to diversify the city\u2019s revenue streams. But she\u2019s reluctant to support the tax proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can keep trying to work with our partners and work with our community and work with our business leaders to attract more investment, or we can bleed them dry,\u201d Aitken said. \u201cI don\u2019t think doing this approach is going to be better for us.\u201d<\/p>\n