The actual Vail Resort off I-70 in Colorado, not New Hampshire. Photo: Shutterstock
Amid an already rough winter for ticket sales, Vail Resorts is currently the the target of multiple class-action lawsuits, the first alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the second accusing them of artificially inflating the cost of ski passes. Now, the state of New Hampshire announced it has opened an investigation into Vail Resorts for allegedly adding sales tax while selling Epic Passes to state residents.
The announcement was made by New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte in a press release Monday, in which she declared that the state of New Hampshire had opened the investigation through the Office of the Attorney General. “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 New Hampshire resorts Wildcat Mountain, Attitash and Crotched Mountain. In addition, the organization operates Mount Sunapee through a lease agreement with the state. According to the State, the company disclosed in an investor presentation in March that it would begin charging a “blended” sales tax rate of 3.2 percent on all multi-resort Epic pass products, which appears to include those sold in New Hampshire.
However, Vail has already denied any wrongdoing. “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 company responded in the statement. “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.”
