A multi-year legal battle has come to an end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs won’t have to pay $1 million in back taxes to the State of Missouri, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. They reversed the decision of a state panel from back in January that claimed the Chiefs owed back taxes to the state.
This all started back in 2014 when an audit from the Missouri Department of Revenue flagged a number of purchases made by the Chiefs during Arrowhead Stadium’s largest renovation completed in 2010. Taxpayers paid for the majority of the $375 million dollar renovation, which included a new press box, new seating arrangements, new concourses and more.
The Chiefs kicked in over $100 million of their own funds for the project. The Missouri Department of Revenue claimed the team avoided paying state sales taxes on $23 million in purchases made to the tune of nearly $1 million. The Chiefs, however, believed they were exempt from sales taxes for a number of reasons.
First, their contributions were paid into a common fund controlled by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. Everything purchased in the renovation belonged to Jackson County and not the team. Second, the Missouri Finance Development Board had granted a tax credit specifically for that fund, exempting both the team and the county authority from specific state taxes.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the Chiefs and Jackson County Sports Complex Authority in a unanimous decision.
