Lynnwood votes to keep movie ticket tax in place

By Janice Podsada

Herald Writer

LYNNWOOD — After a long wait-and-see battle, movie-goers in the Lynnwood area won’t be getting a break at the box office.

The Lynnwood City Council voted 4 to 3 this week to keep the city’s 5 percent entertainment admissions tax on the books.

Council Member Don Gough introduced an ordinance that would have repealed the entertainment tax.

But city council members Lisa Utter, Jim Smith, Marty Nelson and Ruth Ross shot down the ordinance and voted to keep the tax in effect.

Council members Gough, Loren Simmonds and Ted Hikel voted to repeal the admissions tax that adds about 33 cents to the price of a $7.50 movie ticket.

The entertainment admissions tax was approved by the city council in December 1999.

The tax went into effect in January 2000. The city collected revenue on the tax for the next 11 months. But the money was set aside while the constitutionality of Initiative 695 was debated by the state Supreme Court.

Under I-695, all new taxes had to be approved by voters.

In October 2000, the state Supreme Court ruled that I-695 was unconstitutional.

In 2000, Initiative 722 was passed by voters.

I-722 would have required cities to repeal any taxes instituted after the passage of I-695. The entertainment admissions tax would have fallen in that category, Gough said.

In December 2000, the city suspended collection of the entertainment tax while the constitutionality of I-722 was debated.

Last year, I-722 was found to be unconstitutional.

In December 2001, Lynnwood resumed collecting the 5 percent tax, Mayor Mike McKinnon said.

The tax generates about $200,000 annually, said Peter Lieurance, Lynnwood’s executive assistant.

The revenues will be deposited into the city’s general fund and used to pay for police, fire and city maintenance.

Council members who favor the tax said that surrounding communities, including Everett, Mountlake Terrace and Seattle, have charged an entertainment admission tax for years.

You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.