Orange tax man alleges Orlando airport is a deadbeat over nonpayment of $3.4 million
Just as life is breathing back into Orlando’s pandemic-stricken airport, a tax collector has alleged that Starbucks, Disney World, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Spirit Airlines and many others are in arrears for $3.4 million due from their presence at the airport.
The suit names only the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority as a defendant, stating that there is controversy over the statute of limitations and over who is liable for unpaid taxes. The city-owned airport can be exempt from property taxes, the suit notes, but also can become subject to taxes because of leases of commercial space to for-profit companies. The suit asks for a judge to sort it out.
The suit explains that the disputed taxes trace back to 2015 and that negotiations in 2019 failed to resolve payment. Neither the airport nor the tax collector responded to requests for comment.
In response to the suit, the airport authority issued a statement, saying some of its tenants are fighting the tax bills and that the authority is not responsible for the debts
The suit filed by Orange County’s tax collector Scott Randolph includes a spreadsheet of 30 entries that break down the alleged $3.4 million debt.
specified in the lawsuit.
The suit filed by Orange County’s tax collector Scott Randolph includes a spreadsheet of 30 entries that break down the alleged $3.4 million debt.
Of the dozens of retail and service providers at the airport, including airlines, restaurants, sunglasses and candy shops, rental-car companies and a hotel, there is little apparent rhyme or reason for the debts involved.
Walt Disney World has two stores at the airport. Its location at the west end allegedly owes $35,000, but there is no mention of the east-side store.
Details alleged in the suit include: Spirit owing $307 in stormwater fees from the 2015 tax year; Starbucks, operated by Host International, owing $46,390; a company called Ground Services International owing $21.42; and EZ Rent A Car owing $32,415.
“The Tax Collector is well aware that with the current pandemic crises, it is a difficult time for any taxpayer to clear a large arrearage,” said the tax collector’s lawyer, Benjamin Iseman, in a letter to the airport authority in December that is copied in the lawsuit.
“However, now more than ever, there are critical state and local government needs that these taxes will fund,” Iseman said.
The alleged debt of $3.4 million is a relatively small sum for the airport and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. This month, the public agency gave concessionaires located within the terminal nearly $20 million in relief from rent because of the plunge in travelers during the pandemic.
The aviation authority is building a $2.8 billion terminal and prior to the pandemic maintained annual budgets of more than a half-billion dollars.
At this time last year, the daily number of travelers was in a free fall. But the volume of springtime travel this year at Orlando International Airport has surged.
“We’ve been the busiest in the United States,” said Tom Draper, airport operations director, of the number of outbound passengers counted at security checkpoints. Orlando International Airport has often topped all other airports in that category this year.