City of Sun Valley v. Sun Valley Co. ( 1993 )

JOHNSON, Justice,

concurring and dissenting.

I concur in parts I, II, and III of the Court’s opinion. I dissent from part IV (Lift Tickets Are Taxable as Receipts from the Use or Privilege of Using Facilities for Recreational Purposes under I.C. § 63-3612(f)).

I agree with the Court’s opinion that the term “recreational purposes” is ambiguous. In my view, however, the analysis of the Court focusing on the object sought by the buyer would also lead us to uphold the application of the sales tax to all forms of transportation, where the object sought by the buyer is to go skiing. Inevitably, this will include buses and other forms of transportation that take people to ski or to engage in other recreation. The Court’s application of the sales tax in this case conflicts with the position of ISTC that ground transportation services are generally not taxable.