LINCOLN — Omaha's glistening TD Ameritrade Park looks like a city-owned facility and has often been called that.
But if you dig through the fine print, it is actually owned by a nonprofit corporation that leases the property back to the city so it can stage the College World Series and other events.
That led to a surprising ruling last year by the Nebraska Department of Revenue that declared that the baseball stadium, plus other publicly owned properties developed through similar lease-purchase arrangements, should pay property taxes — even though they are essentially government structures, which are exempt from taxes.
State Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha moved Monday to try to avoid an estimated $7.5 million tax bill for the City of Omaha, an added jolt that would have to be made up by Omaha taxpayers or cuts in other spending.
That tax bill, Harr said, includes property taxes that would have to be paid on TD Ameritrade Park and other properties the city has developed through lease-purchase, a mechanism used by many cities, counties and the State of Nebraska to finance new buildings.
Lease-purchase arrangements are often used by governmental entities as an alternative to issuing bonds in a voter-approved election. A nonprofit corporation is formed to issue the bonds, which are paid off by the city or county. But the ownership of the improvement — a stadium, parking garage or library — is held by the nonprofit corporation until the bonds are paid off.
Bellevue Sen. Abbie Cornett heads the Legislature's Revenue Committee, which will review Harr's proposal. She said she's willing to listen but has questions about cities using lease-purchase to approve costly projects, and increase costs for taxpayers, without a public vote.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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