Washington State, Golf Club Spar Over Initiation Fee Taxation

A Vancouver, Wash., country club and the state revenue department laid out their arguments about whether initiation fees are fully deductible from the club’s taxable income, in briefs to the Washington Supreme Court.

The high court agreed June 7 to review a state appeals court decision reversing a trial court ruling that only a portion of the one-time initiation fees paid to the nonprofit Royal Oaks Country Club was eligible for a deduction from the club’s business and occupation taxes and retail sales taxes. The initiation fees, which are separate from the club’s monthly dues, range from $200 to $10,000, ...