There have been some pretty crazy seizures to settle old tax bills – but a ferris wheel?
That’s exactly what Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley is demanding. And it would be one heck of a seizure: the ferris wheel in contention is not only not in the same county, it’s in a different state.
Two years ago, the 20 story SkyView Ferris wheel was physically located in Escambia County, in Pensacola Beach, Florida, its first stop outside of Europe. The wheel found its way to the United States after it was purchased by developers who had the wheel moved from its home in Bern, Switzerland: prior to that, the wheel was located next to the Louvre museum in Paris, France.
The idea was to move the wheel to a city in the United States where it could be an attraction much like the London Eye. After a short stint in Florida, developers found what they believed to be the ideal location: a spot in Atlanta, Georgia, near the city’s Centennial Olympic Park. The wheel has since remained at the park, where it’s a popular tourist destination.
That could change if Escambia County gets its way. Holley has filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court, demanding that the sheriff seize the wheel in order to satisfy an outstanding tax liability. It seems that the transfer from Pensacola to Atlanta wasn’t quite as smooth as originally thought. The original operators of the ferris wheel moved it out of town without paying more than $350,000 in property taxes. By Florida law, taxes on tangible personal property follow the thing that’s being taxed – so long as the taxes remain due on the wheel, the property is subject to seizure.
The same process applies to a car or a boat – and, apparently, a 200 foot ferris wheel.
The wheel has been appraised at $11.3 million. Property taxes were due on that amount for the time the wheel was located in Florida. However, according to the lawsuit, the operators failed to file a timely tax return. Eventually, a tax return was filed but was rejected because of errors – including the wrong date. The tax due, originally $237,000, was never paid. Despite the outstanding tax bill, the wheel was transferred out of the state. That, Holley notes, is a crime punishable by a fine and jail time.
The company that operated the wheel in Florida has since dissolved.
Together with penalty and interest, the amount outstanding on the wheel is currently $350,000. That money, claims Holley, “belongs to the taxpayers of Escambia County.”
Some in Atlanta believe that it’s not about the money and instead say it’s simply a case of sour grapes. Jason Evans, a Skyview Atlanta spokesman, referred to the lawsuit as “a vendetta by a public official” and claimed that “Pensacola has always been angry that this wonderful icon left their city and came to Atlanta.”
Holley, however, says different. She doesn’t really want the wheel, she says. “I really would prefer they just pay their taxes.”
The matter is set to go to court in July.
