I was digging around in some old files the other day and stumbled across this project I worked on a while back. It had to do with figuring out whether golf course fees are taxable in Michigan. Kinda random, I know, but it was a head-scratcher at the time, so I thought I’d share the process here. Just felt like putting it out there in case anyone else ever runs into this weird issue.
So, first off, I had this client who owned a golf course. Nice guy, but he was totally confused about the tax situation. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be charging sales tax on the green fees and other stuff. We started by looking up some general info. I came across these official-sounding “Advisory Opinions” and some legal documents talking about a property with a golf course called “The Preserve Golf Course.” Apparently, cities think they can make money in the golf business, but that’s not always the case.

Next, I tried to find out what Michigan’s tax laws said about services. My client’s golf course wasn’t just selling goods; it was more about the service of letting people play golf, right? Turns out, Michigan mostly cares about taxing “tangible personal property”—you know, actual physical stuff you can touch. Services are usually off the hook unless the state law specifically calls them out. So, I dug deeper into the laws to see if golf was one of those special cases.
- I went through a bunch of state government websites.
- Read through tons of boring legal documents.
- Tried to figure out if golf fees counted as taxable.
It got complicated because this golf course also had a banquet business and a tennis business. It was like running four different things at once! It’s not just about golf. If you’ve got a daily fee, you’re dealing with golf, food, maybe tennis—it’s a whole mix. So, I had to consider if each part was taxable on its own. I found this one bit about the European Court of Justice (ECJ) saying that green fees for non-profit golf clubs fall under some kind of VAT sporting exemption. That was interesting, but it didn’t really apply here since we were looking at Michigan, not Europe.
Then, I made a list of transactions that are usually exempt from sales tax in Michigan, like sales for resale, stuff for industrial processing or farming, and sales outside the state. This helped me see where golf course fees might fit in, or if they didn’t fit in at all.
What I Concluded
After all that digging, I figured out that in Michigan, golf course fees are generally not subject to sales tax because they’re considered a service. But it’s not totally black and white. If the golf course is selling stuff like golf balls or renting out equipment, those things are taxable. It was a relief for my client, but also a good reminder that tax laws can be super specific and you gotta check every angle. Hope this helps someone out there!

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