The owners of Blue Mash golf course in Montgomery County are seeking an exemption from a county tax they feel makes it harder for them to compete with public golf courses operated by the county.
Montgomery County Council Member Mike Knapp will introduce a bill today that would exempt the privately owned Blue Mash course in Laytonsville and Trotters Glen in Olney from the 7 percent admissions and amusement tax the courses are charged on their gross receipts.
“It comes right out of our bottom line,” said Joe Hills, managing partner of Blue Mash golf course. “Even more importantly, we have to add on another five, six, seven bucks to our greens fees, and that’s fees that courses we directly compete with, like Hampshire Greens [in Silver Spring], don’t have to pay.”
Blue Mash and Trotters Glen are the only two privately owned public golf courses in the county, meaning the courses are owned by private parties, but unlike country club courses, no membership or initiation fee is required to play the course.
Hills said Blue Mash pays more than $100,000 a year to the county via the admissions and amusement tax.
“It’s a little tough to swallow,” Hills said. “We lose outings to places like Hampshire Greens because they undercut our prices so much. In addition, because they’re owned by the county, they don’t pay any property taxes and they get real cheap municipal bonds.”
Weekend greens fees at Blue Mash are $79 to play the 18-hole course; at Hampshire Greens they are $69.
County Council attorney Mike Faden said Blue Mash officials have said it would cost the county $150,000 a year to exempt the two golf courses from the tax but that the county will need to confirm that estimate.
“If we decide treating these folks identically is the right thing to do, the other question is, can the county afford this?” Faden said.
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