BENTON, Tenn. — Polk County Sheriff Bill Davis said he’s going to start trying to seize property of four rafting companies that haven’t posted required bonds in a lawsuit over a county rafting tax.
He said companies doing business in Polk County have failed to post bonds or letters of credit required by Chancellor Jerri Bryant while outfitters appeal a $2.50-per-customer county tax.
About 20 companies are required to post sureties equal to $1.9 million in back taxes while the appeal makes its way through the courts.
Sheriff Davis said the four companies are liable for about $50,000, but he doesn’t expect it will be easy to collect. Two apparently are out of business, and one is based out of state. The other company, River Rats, is in negotiations about the amount owed, he said.
“We are still working on this,” the sheriff said.
Ocoee Outfitters Association President Carlo Smith said the two companies that went out of business are The Cross and USA Rafting. The out-of-state company is North Carolina-based Endless River, he said.
“They had been closed for the season and hadn’t received any information about the payments,” Mr. Smith said.
The original fee was passed in 1981 by the Polk County Commission. The fee was revised in 2001 as a privilege tax, and rafting operators were charged with collecting it. Operators have resisted and the case has been in court for years. Several have said they could be forced out of business if they are required to pay the tax.
Last year, Chancellor Bryant ruled that the county could begin collecting the tax and the sheriff moved to seize operators’ property to cover past-due amounts. But Chancellor Bryant said the companies could file bonds or letters of credit while the order is appealed.
The chancellor had ruled that because the rafting companies were merely collecting the tax, they could not challenge its imposition. Then rafting customer John Moscheo filed a separate lawsuit claiming the tax violates federal maritime law.
That case is scheduled to be heard April 16, records show.
