- Video shows Quasar Drive-In Theater and owner Jeff Karls
- Local drive-in theater concerned that new proposed tax could set industry back after recovering from COVID
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Back in 2020, as COVID was shutting down theaters across the country, the Quasar Drive-In Theater outside of Valley was just getting on its feet.
Those first few years were challenging for the Quasar as the industry navigated lockdowns and social distancing but as the years have gone by, the demand for a theater experience is starting to come back.
"Things are just now kind of starting to wake up as we found last summer was one of our better years and we actually put money in the black," said Quasar Drive-In Theater owner Jeff Karls.
But that progress could be at risk with a new push to lower property taxes.
A new bill LB169 would among other things add a new sales tax to movie rentals.
Most consumers are thinking about picking up a movie for the weekend but for theater owners like Karls, rentals are how they get people in the door.
"We will be paying sales tax to an out of state entity, California and New York is usually where our wires and checks go for box office returns on a percentage of what we pay on that film. We will also collect and remit sales tax on tickets for gross sale at the box office. It's tax on the same dollar," said Karls.
The movie rental tax wouldn't put much of a dent in the state's property tax bill.
The governor's office this summer estimated the tax could net the state only $23,000 a year in revenue.
But its not just rentals that lawmakers are looking to tax.
"It's our job to make our profitability happen in the snack bar. These two bills in Nebraska seem like a one-two punch. They want to get us coming and going," said Karls.
LB170 would remove a sales tax exemption on pop & candy.
That relief would be much more substantial for the state at an estimated $49 million in fiscal year 25-26.
Karls says that he is a strong supporter of property tax relief and says lawmakers are on the right track helping property owners.
But he wants to make sure that any laws passed aren't doing more harm than good for theaters like his.
"As a Douglas County property owner of 40 acres I get it and I do appreciate the property tax relief. But in this respect it's a lot like taking it out of one pocket and putting it in the other," said Karls.
