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After Two Legal Defeats, Aviation Authority Is Taking Property Appraiser to State Supreme Court Over Hotel's Tax Liability

ORLANDO-At issue is a $5-million delinquent property tax bill that two courts say the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority must pay for its 446-room Hyatt Regency Hotel at Orlando International Airport. The agency argues the hotel serves a public purpose and is tax exempt.

By Alex Finkelstein | Updated on December 07, 2000

ORLANDO-Already dealing with one legal hot potato–the Presidential election–the Florida Supreme Court is about to get another sizzling issue. That one is property taxes, $5 million worth that hasn’t been paid since 1998 by the 446-room Hyatt Regency Hotel at Orlando International Airport.

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which owns the hotel, will ask the High Court to throw out rulings by two lower courts that say the agency must pay up. GOAA argues it doesn’t have to pay a dime because the eight-year-old, award-winning hotel serves a direct public purpose on airport grounds, like runways and baggage carousels, making it tax exempt.

But the Orange Circuit Court in Orlando, the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach, FL and Orange County Property Tax Appraiser Richard T. Crotty maintain the aviation agency is running the hotel as a private, profit-making business and must pay annual property taxes like any other business. Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels manages the asset for GOAA and is paid an annual fee.

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