City Defends Golf Course Tax Exemption at Florida High Court

Gulf Breeze’s municipal golf course shouldn’t have lost its tax-exempt status when the city turned over management of the facility to a private company, it argued to the Florida Supreme Court.

The revenue structure of a facility management agreement has never been part of the tax exemption analysis, Gulf Breeze argued in its opening brief in the case, which the court agreed to review in August. Regardless of whether the management company makes a profit, the property qualifies for the exemption because it is owned and operated by the city, is open to the public, and serves ...