Kennywood fights amusement tax

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) -- Local officials are upset that the state House has approved a bill that would exempt historic Kennywood Park from a local amusement tax.
The amusement park has been fighting the tax, which costs the park $1.5 million a year, money that goes to West Mifflin borough and a local school district. Park officials said the tax makes it hard to compete with other nearby amusement parks like Geauga Lake in Ohio that do not pay a local amusement tax.
But West Mifflin officials, including local state Rep. Ken Ruffing, D-Allegheny, said the borough and school district rely on the money and will have to raise other taxes if the Kennywood bill is approved by the Senate and signed into law.
"Why is the state dealing with a local situation?" said Borough Manager Howard Bednar.
The bill would make it illegal to tax any "fixed site amusement park that has been designated a national historic landmark by the National Park Service." Kennywood is the only park in the state that fits the description.
The Senate must still approve the bill, and likely will not consider it before the fall session.