Branson Civic Leaders Advising Business to Disregard Supreme Court Ruling on Ticket Sales

City leaders believe they've paid off enough members of the Missouri Legislature, contributed enough money to the campaigns of sitting Senators, used enough tax dollars to ensure their personal business objectives are met, convinced enough of the Missouri Legislature using public tax dollars to overturn a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling regarding ticket sales. Some area business owners have been told they can disregard mandates handed down through Missouri's Department of Revenue six months after the Supreme Court ruled Branson theaters were to distinguish wholesale from retail sales.

Taxation of ticket sales has been on the forefront with Branson leaders for years. Under a past administration, former Branson City Manager Terry Dody, attempted to collect city tourism levies on retail sales.

Until the Supreme Court ruling last year, Branson theaters paid tourism taxes in a Value Added Tax (VAT) method. Taxes for Branson venues were paid on wholesale prices which meant the city of Branson loses millions on the retail sale of tickets. The loophole has led many Branson companies to create corporations in Hollister creating a loophole where Branson theater and hotel owners to escape levies.

One real world example allows a business to setup shop 100 yards from city limits, sale tickets to a company under a corporate umbrella and reduce hotel and theater booking taxws 50%.

Supply, demand and actual cost of tickets eludes many tourists to our friendly city, so here's the rundown.

Most theaters offer wholesale tickets to vendors. Under contract, a theater ticket with a list price of $50.00 could be sold for $5.00 a ticket wholesale. Theaters have been collecting on the $5.00 ticket price and absorbing the tax on the wholesale amount. These tickets are often given away in exhange for timeshare tours or repackaged and sold embedded with Hotel and dining vouchers. Hybrids of the two aforementioned models are common as well and were addressed in the Missouri Supreme Court Decision viewable from the link posted above.

A political and lobbying organization, known as the League of Theaters, now subsidized through public funds, initiated a lawsuit claiming theaters shouldn't have to collect the tax due to the fact the tickets are being wholesaled. One of the initiators of the suit was Branson's Mayor. Before seated as Mayor,the Presley Theater dripped the suit but Music City Center pushed forward. Missouri's Supreme Court agreed with Music City Center and in their opinion addressed retail sales tax collection methods.

For Presley and friends the fruits of victory were sour. Six months afer the ruling, A meeting with Missouri's Department of Revenue enraged travel agencies. The ruling also backfired on the Theaters themselves as the Department of Reveune promised to audit theaters to chase down state taxes on retail sales.

The debacle forced three tax collecting entities to cough up tax dollars to fight the mess our city leaders private legal endeavors forced upon companies selling travel services.

Businesses in the area are being told to disregard Missouri's Supreme court decision and are pushing several measures to put a bill on Missouri's Assembly floor. Section two of House Bill 2040 reads:

" Because immediate action is necessary to prevent the imposition of sales and use taxes on items that are intended to be exempted or excluded from sales and use taxes, section A of this act is deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace, and safety, and is hereby declared to be an emergency act within the meaning of the constitution, and section A of this act shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval.;"

(Full House Bill 2040 Text as Introduced)

Branson Leaders have no Intention of Honoring Airport Contract

Branson Airport executive director Jeff Bourke should be nominated for sainthood for keeping the dialogue positive while Branson city administrators show they have no intention of honoring a 2006 agreement that enabled the region to build a first-class airport.

Presley has publicly criticized the agreement while personally capitalizing on the airport at every turn.

Regarding Branson city leader's public attempts to dishonor the agreement, Jeff Bourke told Ozark Mountain News,

"airport representatives continue to work with city officials to resolve the dispute. Bourke said the relationship with the two entities is good. We'll continue to talk with them and work through this, but at the end of the day, we have an agreement and we expect to get paid"

Branson's former mayor Lou Schaefer reforms now account for 30% of Branson's economy. Unfortunately, some of Branson's theaters haven't generated new revenue for Branson in over a decade.

Theaters, such as the Presley's, owned and managed by Branson's current mayor have received increasing subsidies over the past several years, but if new revenue is the goal, Presley Theater is a dismal failure.

In a 2007 interview Branson's new mayor criticized a pay-per-performance contract the former city leader signed to bring a new airport to the Branson area. Of course, when the airport opened, Presley took the stage and boasted what a great addition the new airport is to Branson. It was all smiles and waves as Presley was toted on a pull cart through the new property. She even took the center stage with an hour long speech during the airport's opening.

Politics aside, Presley had no intention of honoring the contract and has worked vigorously to undermine the integrity of Branson's agreement.

Under the auspices of the agreement, the city of Branson is required to pay $8.24 per passenger that cites Branson as their destination. The contract has a ceiling of $500,000 per quarter. Without the agreement, Branson's international airport would have never been built.

Since Presley took office economic development has been put on the back-burner. Higher end resorts have seen increased revenues while some of Branson's traditional theaters have seen steady natural decline. As one newspaper put it, "Branson's Country Music theaters have lost their charm."

An upper-scale audience has little interest in some of the traditional venues, good for Branson, bad for some private businesses - including the mayor's.

Luckily, due to the insight of Branson's former mayor Lou Schaefer, Branson has defied the economic downturn most cities in the United States have experienced over the past three years. Branson's last three years boast the highest sales tax revenue in the city of Branson's history. Most recently, November 2009 sales tax receipts are reporting 4.9% higher than 2008 - which was a former record.

But the new administration is in a jam. Presley's social reform programs have brought new debt to Branson. And Presley has clearly ignored 2007 recommendations that Branson put the yellow light on spending.

While the city is experiencing record revenue, Presley's spending spree has promised to drive Branson into bankruptcy.

Prior to becoming mayor, Presley had a habit of suing the city. Although Presley's attempts to pursue litigation were dismal failures, tax dollars now provide deep coffers for Presley's battle against a free market economy.To date, Presley has spent $67,000 in legal fees to fight fiscal responsibility for the City of Branson's end to the agreement.

Due to Presley's disregard for Missouri's application of the Freedom of Information Act (i.e. Missouri's Sunshine Law) some of the reports are just coming out.

Over the last three years of record sales, Presley has overspent city income by over $5,000,000 drasitcally reducing the $12,000,000 surplus at the mayor's disposal when she took office.

The overspending promises bankruptcy for Branson in three years if debt isn't restructured. Recommendations for infrastructure upgrades already exceed the City of Branson's available funds.

Shunning the agreement, 2010's budget doesn't include the expense. In an attempt to create a roadblock to payments Presley pushed a Branson Board of Alderman resolution to force an amendment to the contract before any payments are issued.

Misouri Supreme Court Drafts Decision on Branson Theater Taxation

"To tax or not to tax" was the question posed to the Missouri Supreme Court by Music City Center who asked for more than $83,000 plus interest on taxes paid for tickets they claim were subject to the "retail exemption".
The opinion published by Missouri Supreme Court Judge Patricia Breckenrige was without a dissenting opinion.
Music City Center, a theater on Branson's 76 strip, partially won a battle with Missouri's Director of Revenue who denied a tax refund on tickets sold to timeshare and discount repackaging agencies.
The court identified three distinct types of Branson theater ticket transactions and ruled that two were not subject to taxation. The two cases in which Music City Center is due a refund involves tickets re-sold to Branson tourists and tickets re-sold as a bundled product with other Branson services such as restaurant vouchers.
The court maintained that Music City Center was required to pay the state's 4 percent sales tax in the event tickets were used as a freebie for tourists participation in a timeshare tour.
The full Missouri Supreme Court opinion is archived on Branson Agent.
Missouri Supreme Court Opinion Regarding Branson Theater Taxation - Music City Center

Branson's Starlite Theater Purchased

The Springfield Business Journal's Dee Dee Jacobs released details about the purchase of the Starlite Theater in Branson...here's the scoop:

Killian Construction Co. CEO Bill Killian, PFI Western Store President Randy Little and Branson lakes developer Justin Gage, along with estate planner Scott Rassler out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on March 5 purchased the Starlite Theatre, 3115 W. State Highway 76, from previous owner Ron Layher.

Joe Sullivan has been hired to manage the theater, according to Little.

The five-story Starlite will be the new home of the Liverpool Legends, a Beatles tribute band that previously played at Branson’s Caravelle Theater. Other regular performers at Starlite will be The Platters in the morning and Moe Bandy in the afternoon.

Rico J and the Hot Hits Commercial airing in Branson

The Hot Hits Coffeehouse in Downtown Branson is one of the few shows still open during the winter season.

The video clip posted above is currently running on cable television.

Helping the deaf hear Branson Entertainment

Signed Entertainment Enterprises (S.E.E.)has a simple goal, their mission statement reads:

Our goals are simple. We want to educate vacation destination's on how to become and stay "deaf and hard of hearing friendly". We also want to give the deaf and hard of hearing community a source to plan a well deserved vacation, or just a weekend "get away".

The organization is challenging Branson Theaters to provide "deaf and hard of hearing friendly" entertainment and promise to assist the City of Branson in bringing an untapped client base to the region.

Andy Williams to perform with Sprinfield Symphony at Branson Landing

(Photo Courtesy of PetulaClark.net)Andy Williams will be performing with the Springfield Symphony this Sunday Sep. 23 6 p.m. at the Branson Landing.
The show is certain to be spectacular. Best of all, It's totally free.
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Hat tip to Bill Lennon for the success of the live concert series and the Branson Arts Council and Gifts of Distinction owner/artist Tim Cherry for sponsoring the event.

Haygoods Leaving Branson

The Haygoods are leaving Branson. Individual family members have been branching out and exploring personal creative interests for the last couple of years. They've also been working on a couple contracts which should be released soon...

From the Press Release:

After 16 years and more than 10,000 performances in Branson, The Haygood Family will perform their final full season of shows next year according to Haygood family representatives and David Sandy, president of David Sandy Productions, Inc.

Originally from Boerne, Texas, the musical family of seven brothers and one sister (Timothy, Patrick, Dominic, Michael, Shawn, Matthew, Aaron and Catherine) ranging in age from 14 to 30 became a Branson favorite soon after their first early performances at Silver Dollar City beginning in 1993. Proficient as musicians, vocalists, acrobats and entertainers, the family moved to the Music City Centre theater in 2002 and created a two-hour show that received notoriety and accolades from Branson visitors and locals alike.

The group has already initiated the planning and early stages of production of a television show that will showcase the personalities and variety of talent within the family. Additionally, selected national and international tour dates have been proposed for 2009 and beyond.

Branson Agent published the press release below:Full Press Release - Haygoods Leaving Branson

Ticketmaster Correction

A representative from Ticketmaster clarified their ticket resale policy this afternoon in response to the post "Ticketmaster wins big in Missouri".

Brian Cameron, marketing manager for Ticketmaster's operations in St. Louis and Branson said:

I wanted to reach out to address a portion of your recent blog about Ticketmaster’s efforts in the secondary market: Your piece ended saying “The resale market will allow the company to sell tickets they aren't currently brokering.” This is not actually the case.
Since Ticketmaster is dedicated to providing fans a safe, secure and 100% legitimate resale marketplace, only tickets purchased initially through Ticketmaster may be resold via TicketExchange.

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We appreciate Ticketmaster's assistance in ensuring our editorial integrity with a rapid response though we prefer their money.

Willie Nelson Comes to Branson Missouri

 

Willie Nelson was shaking the house last night at RFD-TV theatre. Nelson, who owes me an interview, stood so close to me during his final set that if were any closer we'd be kissing. I have a nice photo set ...the pic above being one of the worst. Click to see the larger image but if you want to see Willie Nelson live he's at the RFD theatre tonight!

Poor Planning Costs Branson Missouri Theatres Millions

For many Branson theatre's, failure to plan is failure to profit. A significant number of Branson venues don't release schedules until doors open in March. Millions in sales are conducted before these schedules are available.
According to Larry Milton, owner of Branson Tourism Center, roughly seven percent of his companies 350,000 annual theatre ticket sales are conducted between January and February. Milton's sales staff routes customers to theatres that have provided him with schedules. Sometimes, tickets sold are a client's second choice.
John Johnson, owner of Reserve Direct contends people are planning trips even earlier. "Tourists are trying to plan April vacations in October….they try to make reservations but they can't," states Johnson. Reserve Direct is a passive system; all transactions originate and are completed through his online booking engine. Consumers that attempt to purchase Branson theatre seats are unable to finish a buy if schedules aren't available. Psychographic and demographic data clue Johnson into details behind what motivates and when tourists are trying to book vacation packages. The company's local product, Reserve Branson yielded over $6.4 million in bookings last year.
Though Branson remains both Johnson's primary market and corporate headquarters, expansion into new tourist destinations has ensued full throttle over the last couple of years. He admits some markets are difficult to penetrate citing challenges the Pigeon Forge region has created for his company. Steady traffic and consistent numbers during peak weeks have convinced venues such as Dollywood that marketing funds should be dedicated to intercept strategies. Even venues such as Dixie Stampede, who've experienced substantial success with Reserve Direct locally, rely on influencing tourists after they've already arrived in the Gatlinburg region. Convincing the Pigeon Forge market that efforts focused towards demand creation to a wider market is proving to be an uphill battle, at least for the time being. Johnson is convinced this will change when the market reaches a larger critical mass and increased competition becomes more of an issue. His experience comes from a recent launch in Orlando where he found a Disney deal easy to ink. Negotiations with the destination superpower took less than a week.
Milton attributes his success in Branson to out of area marketing. A budget dedicated to pitching consumers outside our area has exceeded $1,000,000 annually over the last two years.
Both Milton and Johnson agree that an early release of show schedules would result in more businesses beginning the season deeper in the black without spending a penny.

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This article was written last month for the Branson Daily Independent.