Comptroller: NYCB Theatre at Westbury Owes Nassau County Over $500K in Ticket Taxes, Penalties

The NYCB Theatre at Westbury owes Nassau County $548,198 in ticket taxes and penalties for unreported tickets sales and for not paying an Entertainment Surcharge tax for certain shows for almost three years, according to an audit by The Comptroller’s Office.

The Theatre, which is managed by Westbury Music Fair/Live Nation, is supposed to pay Nassau County an Entertainment Surcharge Tax of $1.50 per seat sold due to the permanent seating capacity of over 2,500 seats, Comptroller George Maragos reports.

NYCB Theatre told the County they were exempt from the tax when they hold “curtain restricted shows,” which blocks off seats, according to Maragos.

An audit by Nassau County found that NYCB Theatre must pay the tax during their “curtain restricted shows.”

The $548,198 owed to Nassau County includes surcharge taxes on 214,241 seats sold from January 1, 2012 to September 30, 2014, the audit reports.

Maragos is urging Nassau County to take all necessary steps to collect the money owed, plus penalties and interest.

The Comptroller’s Office recommends that the Theatre give back the money owed to Nassau County, report and remit taxes on tickets sold to curtain restricted events and voluntarily remit ticket surcharges that occurred before the audit as well as current taxes for 2015.

Maragos said Nassau County needs to do a better job of monitoring and collecting ticket taxes.

“This is another example of large organizations that feel there are no consequences for not paying their taxes,” he said. “We will work with the County to ensure the money owed is paid back in full, including money owed before and after the scope of our audit.”

Image via Google Maps