Disneyland pledges $1 billion expansion to avoid ticket tax

As per reports, the City Council voted 3-2 in order to give the company an exemption from any entertainment tax in future that could be charged on tickets to the Disneyland Resort. No admission tax is now collected at any Disney park in the world, company spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.

The resolution extends a almost 20-year agreement with Disney regarding entertainment tax policy. Burbank, California-based Disney would get tax relief for an additional 15 years if it invested significantly more than $1 billion, according to a June 25 statement from the city.

Disneyland Resort President Michael Colglazier said in a statement: “We are asking city leaders to continue with a policy set two decades ago that has driven unprecedented job creation, growth, and prosperity, and enabled the city to invest in vital services that benefit every Anaheim resident”.

The tax exemption on admission tickets will effect park visitors over the next 30 year, officials said.

“Should an expansion occur, it would fall within the existing footprint of the Disneyland Resort and come under entitlements approved in 1996”, it said.

The company also is considering significant infrastructure improvements that would have a direct, positive impact on circulation and traffic flow along Harbor Boulevard and Ball Road.

There are no proposals for an entertainment tax by the City of Anaheim, and any proposed tax would be subject to voter approval.

Disney’s plan calls for breaking ground by the end of 2017 and finishing construction by 2024.

The city added that surplus revenue from the Anaheim Resort helps to fund the Anaheim Police Department, Anaheim Fire & Rescue, and the Public Works Department. “That doesn’t mean that in 10 years from now there might not be a financial crisis in our city that requires a gate tax”.

As per the city, the theme parks independently offer over half of general fund revenue of Anaheim, which is $148 million per year in sales, hotel, property and business license taxes. It does not require a second reading. A $1.5 billion investment could generate $26.8 million per year in additional hotel stay and sales tax revenue for Anaheim, according to the study.