Washington Golf Club Wins Top Court Tax Case on Initiation Fees

A Vancouver, Wash., country club properly deducted the full amount of fees it charges new members to join from its business taxes, the state’s high court ruled Thursday.

“Because the initiation fee alone does not automatically entitle a member to use any service or facility, the fee is paid solely for the privilege of membership,” Justice Barbara A. Madsen wrote for the unanimous court. Therefore it’s wholly deductible as a bona fide initiation fee, the court affirmed.

The Washington Department of Revenue asked the Washington Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision that one-time initiation fees paid to ...