Anaheim council nixes proposed ticket tax on Disneyland, other large venues

Anaheim voters won’t see a November ballot measure that would add a 2% surcharge onto tickets for large events.

Councilman Jose Moreno had pitched the measure, which would mainly have affected Disney’s two Anaheim theme parks, but also would have covered the Honda Center. Angel Stadium would have been exempt under terms of the existing lease.

Had voters approved the 2% “gate tax,” it could have raised $55 million to $80 million a year for city programs and services, according to a city report. But Moreno couldn’t get support from the rest of the council Tuesday to put the question on the ballot, and the proposal died.

Other council members complained about already high taxes and suggested Moreno’s idea hadn’t been fully vetted.

There have only been a few meetings since a council rule change allowed Moreno to put a discussion on the agenda; former Mayor Harry Sidhu, who resigned in May, had led the council majority in the past in blocking many of Moreno’s proposals. On Tuesday, Moreno offered to tweak the measure so the tax wouldn’t apply to city residents, but that wasn’t persuasive.

“Due to the current economic climate, I don’t believe it’s appropriate or that I feel comfortable even asking our residents to consider paying more in taxes to enjoy a local outing,” Councilman Avelino Valencia said.

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