Sales Tax Refund

In Pierce Point Cinema 10, LLC v. Testa (March 13, 2014), BTA Case No. 2012-3603, the BTA granted a movie theater operator a refund of $194,265.79 in sales tax erroneously remitted to the state. The Tax Commissioner originally denied the taxpayer’s refund, stating that the taxpayer was unable to identify customers to be reimbursed for the sales taxes pursuant to R.C. 5739.07(A). The taxpayer was able to prove that its customers did not separately pay the tax. There was no amount of tax stated on the tickets or receipts. Therefore, the customers had no reason to believe they paid the tax. Moreover, when the operator ceased remitting sales tax, it did not change its admission price, further confirming the customers had not paid the tax.