Car rental agencies sued for tax payment

Car rental agencies argue they are essential to the airport's operation.
IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) -- Car rental agencies at the Pittsburgh International Airport are resisting paying property taxes, much to the chagrin of a township and a school district.
A Commonwealth Court ruled about two years ago that food and beverage tenants at the airport's Air Mall don't have to pay property taxes because they are a necessary service. Though the decision did not apply to car rental businesses, Findley tax collector Dorothy McCullough said the rental agencies have had $12.6 million worth of taxable property at the airport reduced to zero since 2003.
Now, Findlay Township and the West Allegheny School District have taken the rental agencies to court to reclaim taxes worth nearly $235,000 annually for the school district and about $25,000 for the township. The amount of the taxes is based on their current tax rates and the most recent assessed values.
McCullough said the fight includes seven car rental companies -- Enterprise, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, National and Dollar.
The individual cases are pending in Common Pleas Court. Attorneys say they expect the cases to be consolidated.
Are they essential?
John Straka, an attorney representing most of the rental car agencies, said the companies should be considered essential because travelers rely on their businesses.
"Our position is that certainly for the out-of-town air travelers in particular, a car rental service is more closely related to the operation of the airport than would be a bar," Straka said.
Findlay Solicitor Alan Shuckrow said the township believes the airport could function without the companies' being located at the airport, which opened in 1992.
"They're not doing anything different than they would if they were half a mile away on private property," Shuckrow said.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates the airport, has not taken a position on the companies' claims, spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said. Car rental companies paid $8.8 million in rent and other fees to the Airport Authority in 2003, Jenny said.
The money lost to the car rental exemptions is about 3 percent of the township's $5.8 million budget, said Findlay manager Gary Klingman.
The rental companies at Philadelphia International Airport pay property tax, as do other businesses, spokesman Mark Pesce said. Only the postal facility is exempt, he said.
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