The Taxman Cometh... for your Bobbleheads?

Bobblehead night at the ballpark, a timeless tradition in baseball - and one that draws the crowds.  I remember going to collect bobbleheads of my beloved Red Sox favorites, it's as American as a hot dog and beer at a ballgame.

Baseball teams use these and other promotional items as attendance drivers, as do many other businesses do for gift-with-purchase programs.  Most of the time, the item cost is amortized in to the ticket or product sell price, so that when the consumer makes a purchase of said ticket/product, they also get the promotional item.  However, the state of Ohio contends that these are not part of the ticket price as that price doesn't change throughout the year.  This Ohio state board of Tax Appeals agreed with the state, and this issue is now at the Ohio Supreme Court.

Yes, we're talking about bobbleheads, however this case presents a large potential issue in regards to all gift-with-purchase programs - should the promotional giveaway be taxable?  Many companies across several industries rely on these type of programs to drive revenue.  Should the giveaway item become a taxable entity, the fallout would be damaging on several levels.

Talk about a wobbly situation (sorry, had to do it..)  For more, Read Here!