A Message from GCSAA

Your Advocacy Matters

That title, I know you’ve heard that before, but what’s being done? What are you doing? Whether you like it or not, it’s a team effort. Every little bit helps. We are always talking about H2B, the EPA, property taxes and so on. What you might not know, is a little something called the “Sin List”.

What is the “Sin List” you ask? It is 144(c)(6)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. Here is the exact wording of the code.

“No portion of the proceeds of such issue is to be used to provide (including the provision of land for) any private or commercial golf course, country club, massage parlor, hot tub facility, suntan facility, racetrack or other facility used for gambling, or any store the principal business of which is the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption off premises”

You might be saying, wait, what??? If you are, I get it, we all get it. This section of the IRS Code, born in the 1976 Tax Reform Act and later updated in the 1986 Tax Reform Act, renders the United States golf industry as disqualified and unworthy of various forms of disaster relief and economic stimulus programs that are available to other businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, and attractions. That’s right, if your property gets hit by a tornado or a flood, you are not eligible to receive any federal help. No money and no FEMA!

Well, guess what, we aren’t putting up with it anymore. We have been fighting this for many many years and it’s not just us, it’s the whole American Golf Industry Coalition. The times have changed, the original code was written to support economic development during a recession when the golf industry mainly consisted of private country clubs. The exclusionary nature of the code has since been utilized in ways not originally intended. You should know, we are making progress, slowly.

Golf is not the same as it was 50 years ago. Currently, the golf industry is made up of 15,000 small businesses, 80% of which provide pubic recreational experiences for nearly 30 million Americans and contribute nearly $5 billion to charity. Not just that, but the industry supports nearly 2 million jobs and annually contributes $102 billion in economic impact.

We’ve seen severe damage in my region this year, whether it be tornadoes or flooding. I’ve heard of courses that might not open back up because of the damage. I bet they could’ve used a little help from the federal government.

 Just know, that these government issues are out there, and we need all the help we can get to protect the industry that we love and rely on to care for ourselves and our loved ones. If there are two things that your elected officials will listen to, one is the voter, and I’ll let you guess the second.

Cheers