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WLWT Cincinnati | Bobblehead battle: Reds take case to Ohio Supreme Court
June 14, 2018 • 2 min read
(Buckingham’s Steven Dimengo takes the Cincinnati Reds’ Bobblehead case to the Ohio Supreme Court)
WLWT has the full story.
The consumer case cuts right to the heart of giveaway items and fair taxation.
Updated: 6:19 PM EDT Jun 13, 2018
John London/WLWT.com
The tax battle over bobble heads landed in the courtroom of the Ohio Supreme Court justices today.
As oral arguments got underway, the Cincinnati Reds were preparing for two more bobble head nights later this month.
There might be a tendency among some fans to laugh the case off as a bunch of bobble-headed blather, but, the truth of the matter is that Cincinnati Reds v. Joseph W. Testa, the tax commissioner of Ohio, is a significant consumer case that cuts right to the heart of giveaway items and fair taxation.
The Reds are asking the state’s top court to reverse a lower court ruling and confirm the Reds entitlement to Ohio’s resale exemption.
The legal arguments at times were difficult to get through, but they were also engaging and occasionally quite entertaining, such as when Justice Terrence O’Donnell said, “So, if I buy tickets through the mail, I don’t get the bobble head unless I actually, physically attend the game?”
When told that was correct, he asked, “Do I have to stay for all nine innings?”
Amid chuckles, he added “That was a trick question.”
Lawyers for the club contend bobble heads and other promotional giveaways are built into the price of a game ticket and therefore exempt from taxation… [Continued]
WLWT has the full story.
Steven A. Dimengo is Chair of the Buckingham Taxation Practice Group. He can be reached at 330.258.6559 or [email protected]. Richard B. Fry is a member of the Taxation Practice Group. He can be reached at 330.258.6423 or [email protected].
