State Announces Investigation into Vail’s 'Epic' Sales Tax

Today, Governor Kelly Ayotte announced that the State, through the Office of the Attorney General, has opened an investigation into Vail Resorts’ implementation of a sales tax in the State of New Hampshire while selling their “Epic Pass” to Granite Staters.

“New Hampshire is proud to have no sales tax, and we’re not going to let an out-of-state company try to sneak one in,” said Governor Ayotte. “The Attorney General will thoroughly investigate Vail Resorts’ attempt to charge a sales tax on Granite State skiers. We’ll continue to ensure New Hampshire is America's best place to ski — sales tax-free.”

Vail Resorts owns and operates Wildcat Mountain, Attitash, and Crotched Mountain. The company also operates Mount Sunapee under a leasing agreement with the State of New Hampshire. In March of this year, the company disclosed in an investor presentation that it would begin charging a “blended” sales tax rate of 3.2% on all multi-resort Epic pass products, which appears to include those sold in (and even those potentially only used in) New Hampshire.

"Vail Resorts’ decision to impose a sales tax on New Hampshire consumers is deeply concerning. This move undermines our long-standing tradition of having no broad-based sales tax and sets a troubling precedent for backdoor taxes through private entities,” said Sarah Scott with Americans for Prosperity of New Hampshire.

“Granite Staters should not be forced to pay taxes that state law does not permit simply because an out-of-state company chose to rewrite the rules.”

In a statement to NHJournal, a spokesperson for Vail Resorts disputes the claim that it is collecting sales taxes in the Granite State.

“We are pleased to provide a wide variety of options for our guests to access our resorts by offering both lift tickets that are resort-specific and passes that provide access to multiple resorts,” said spokesperson Courtney DiFiore. “Vail Resorts does not charge tax on New Hampshire goods or services, including on lift tickets that provide access to our New Hampshire resorts. The Epic Pass and Northeast Value Pass include access to resorts outside of New Hampshire, so those pass products do include the sales and admission taxes that we are legally required to charge for those resorts.”