The USTA National Campus at Lake Nona, a nearly $70 million “tennis heaven” with features like clay courts covered in crushed red brick imported from Italy, is avoiding property taxes by claiming a tax break meant to help charities.
The perpetual tax break saves the United States Tennis Association more than $1 million a year in property taxes that would otherwise help fund Orange County schools, libraries and other local government services.
That’s enough money to pay the salaries of 15 public school teachers.
Former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh initially denied the tennis association’s application for the tax break, which is meant for properties owned by nonprofits and used for “charitable purposes.” But Singh reversed course and approved it after months of litigation and negotiations with the tennis association and with affiliates of the Tavistock Group, the developer of Lake Nona that is owned by billionaire investor Joe Lewis.
Tavistock was one of the largest donors to Singh’s 2020 reelection campaign. Records show companies linked to Tavistock gave at least $9,000 to Singh’s campaign, though Singh ultimately lost the race to former Democratic state Rep. Amy Mercado. A spokeswoman for Tavistock said the donations were not related to Singh’s approval of the exemption.
In a brief interview, Singh said he did not recall the details of the exemption discussions but defended his decision to approve it. “I asked them to prove the fact that they’re doing charitable work,” he said.
Though the state law establishing the “charitable purpose” tax break is vague, Florida courts have long ruled that property tax exemptions are supposed to be narrowly interpreted, and tax attorneys say the USTA’s exemption could be vulnerable to a legal challenge. Some similar facilities in Central Florida pay property taxes, such as the National Training Center in Clermont, the USA Triathlon-certified complex owned by Orlando Health.
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