Can Publicly Owned Golf Courses Managed By Private For-Profit Companies Claim Property-Tax Exemption?

Joseph P. Testa, Tax Commissioner of Ohio v. City of Cincinnati, Case no. 2014-0531

Ohio Board of Tax Appeals

ISSUES:

Are publicly owned golf courses entitled to a property tax exemption when they are exclusively managed by a for-profit business and in direct competition with privately owned golf courses?

Does a private operator's full control of the publicly owned golf courses equate to a lease, making the property no longer exclusively used for a public purpose and no longer exempt from property taxes?