Tennessee Code 68-115-208 – Gross receipt tax – Preliminary and final report on ticket sales – Complimentary tickets – Violations and penalties – Book and records
Amateur: means a person who has never competed in an unarmed combat sport competition or contest for any purse or item of value, other than for a prize or item of value that does not exceed fifty dollars ($50. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Contest: means an unarmed combat sport competition or exhibition in which at least one (1) of the combatants is a professional or has previously competed as a professional in this state or any other state or in which licensed combatants compete for a purse or item of value greater than that amount authorized pursuant to subdivision (1) for an amateur event. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Event: means an amateur event in which amateurs, as defined in this section, compete in an unarmed combat sport competition in accordance with this chapter. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
Person: means and includes individuals, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships or associations, domestic and foreign. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Pro-am competition: means a competition that features a combination of professional contests and amateur events. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Professional: means a person who competes or has competed in an unarmed combat sport contest for the purpose of a purse or item of value greater than that amount authorized for an amateur event, or any person who has been previously licensed in any other jurisdiction as a professional. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Promoter: means any person who produces, stages or sponsors any professional contest of unarmed combat. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
Show settlement: means the period of time immediately following the professional contest in which a commission member or the executive director shall meet with venue personnel and the contest promoter to review ticket sales and collect fees due if paid immediately following the professional contest. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Unarmed combat: means and includes boxing, mixed martial arts and kickboxing as defined and regulated under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Every promoter shall pay professionalcontest fees and taxes due for professional contests of:
(A) Four percent (4%) of the total gross receipts from admission fees to the live professional contest of unarmed combat or five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is greater, exclusive of any federal tax or tax imposed by any political subdivision of this state; and(B) Three percent (3%) of the first one million dollars ($1,000,000), and one percent (1%) of the next two million dollars ($2,000,000), of the total gross receipts from the sale, lease or other exploitation of broadcasting, television and motion picture rights for that contest without any deductions for commissions, brokerage fees, distribution fees, advertising, combatants’ purses or any other expenses or charges.(2) In addition, if a pro-am competition or an amateurevent is broadcasted or televised, such event shall be subject to, and the promoter shall pay, the same percentage of gross receipts as are required pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(A) for professional contests and the percentage of total gross receipts required pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(B) for professional contests related to broadcasting, television and motion picture rights.(b)(1) At show settlement, the promoter and venue personnel shall sign off on and submit to a commission member or the executive director, on a form prescribed by the commission, a preliminary report on ticket sales.(2) The promoter shall pay to the commission the four percent (4%) reportable gross receipts tax described in subsection (a) based upon the preliminary report at show settlement, during which time moneys are paid to the promoter from the contracted venue, or no later than ten (10) days from the date of the contest. If any additional tax is required to be paid pursuant to this section, the tax shall be paid within thirty (30) days from the date of the contest.(c) The promoter shall pay to the commission the fees for the rights described in subdivision (a)(2) no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the contest.(d) A promoter shall not issue complimentary tickets for more than two percent (2%) of the seats in the house, equally distributed between or among the price categories for which complimentary tickets are issued without the commission’s written authorization. The commission shall not consider complimentary tickets that it authorizes pursuant to this section to constitute part of the total gross receipts from admission fees.(e) Every promoter shall, within thirty (30) days after the completion of any professional contest for which an admission fee is charged and received, furnish to the commission a final verified written report showing:
(1) The number of tickets sold or issued for the professional contest;(2) The amount of:
(A) Gross receipts from admission fees without any deductions for commissions, brokerage fees, distribution fees, advertising, combatants’ purses or any other expenses or charges; and(B) Broadcasting fees derived from the sale, lease or other exploitation of broadcasting, motion picture and television rights of the professional contest, without any deductions for commissions, brokerage fees, distribution fees, advertising, combatants’ purses or any other expenses or charges; and(3) Any other reports requested by the commission.(f) When any person fails to make any report and pay the full amount of the reportable tax or fee required by this chapter, there shall be imposed a specific penalty to be added to the tax or fee in the amount of five percent (5%) of the tax or fee if the failure is for not more than thirty (30) days, with an additional five percent (5%) for each additional thirty (30) days or fraction of thirty (30) days, during which the failure continues, not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) in the aggregate. In the case of a false or fraudulent report, or in the case where no report has been filed and there exists a willful intent to defraud the state of the tax or fee due under this chapter, a specific penalty of one hundred percent (100%) of the tax or fee may be due.(g) Every person required to pay a tax or fee pursuant to this chapter shall keep and preserve records showing the amount of the person’s reportable gross receipts taxable and broadcast fees pursuant to this chapter and such other books of account as may be necessary to determine the amount of tax or fee pursuant to this chapter, and all such books and records shall be open to inspection at all reasonable hours to the commission. All such books and records shall be maintained by the taxpayer for a period of three (3) years.
