Orange property appraiser, SeaWorld settle tax dispute

SeaWorld and Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh have reached an agreement that ends their multi-year dispute over how much the theme park should pay in property taxes, court documents show.

The two sides determined SeaWorld’s assessed value will remain at $182.5 million in 2014 before it decreases to about $171 million for 2015 and 2016.

SeaWorld’s taxable value also cannot exceed $178 million for the upcoming 2017 tax year, the Sept. 20 settlement agreement said.

It’s not uncommon for large businesses in Central Florida to file lawsuits to contest their property tax assessments and several, including Publix Super Markets, Lockheed Martin and Darden Restaurants, have pending lawsuits in Orange Circuit Court against Singh.

SeaWorld’s competitors, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Universal Orlando, also are litigating their property tax assessments. Singh said he was unable to comment on their cases because those lawsuits are pending.

“That’s the nature of the business,” Singh said in an interview this week. SeaWorld declined to comment on the settlement other than to say it considered the issue resolved.

Companies with large real estate holdings facing lengthy struggles often push to lower their tax bills, said analyst Bob Boyd, pointing to Atlantic City casinos that took action similar to SeaWorld’s.

“While no company likes to admit their business is less valuable than it has been in the past, more important is to save whatever expenses the company can to both improve their financial returns and reinvest in their business,” said Boyd of Pacific Asset Management.

Singh said he weighed several factors when he agreed on the deal with SeaWorld, ending their court battle.

He researched the company’s stock prices, attendance and other publicly available financial information, so he believed the company’s worth was declining, Singh said.

“We looked at every angle possible. Is it worth advancing? Is it worth taking the risk that’s involved with trial?” Singh said. “It becomes a business decision. It’s dollars and cents.”

Court documents said taking the tax dispute to trial would cost an estimated $100,000 for the county appraiser’s office and $200,000 for SeaWorld.

Singh said he was not anticipating the SeaWorld outcome to have a significant impact on the county’s estimated $170 billion tax roll.

“It’s not going to cause a school to close or a pothole to not get fixed,” Singh said.

In 2014, Singh assessed the Orlando park for about $192.6 million, but the value adjustment board overruled, setting it at about $182.5 million.

SeaWorld and Singh had disagreed on the value of the land per square foot among other issues.

The value adjustment board upheld his original appraisal for about $195 million for both years 2015 and 2016.

Singh, who was elected in 2012, has said he is more willing to fight businesses in court over the assessments than his predecessors.

In his dispute with SeaWorld, for instance, he filed his own lawsuit in 2015 after the value adjustment board overturned his original assessment for the 2014 tax year.

“We hold their feet to the fire,” he said last year.

“While no company likes to admit their business is less valuable than it has been in the past, more important is to save whatever expenses the company can ... ” Bob Boyd of Pacific Asset Management