Nikon at Jones Beach Theater pays $2,500 in back ticket taxes

The operator and manager of Nikon at Jones Beach Theater has made a nearly $2,500 payment to Nassau County for past due ticket taxes, plus penalties and interest following an audit by County Comptroller George Maragos.

The audit, released Wednesday, found that Beach Concerts Inc., a subsidiary of Live Nation, owed the county $2,488 for 984 complimentary tickets issued to radio, television and other media outlets between January 2012 and June 2014.

Nassau concert venues with permanent seating capacity of more than 2,500 must pay the county a $1.50 per ticket entertainment tax.

Beach Concerts Inc. agreed with the comptroller's findings and made a payment to Nassau last month, according to Dan Casale, Live Nation's vice president of finance for Northeast/North American Concerts.

During the 2 1/2 year audit period, Beach Concerts Inc. sold 998,543 tickets and paid the county $1,497,815 in ticket taxes, the report said.

"We are pleased that Beach Concerts Inc. admitted the oversight and readily paid the small tax it owed," Maragos said. "From the county's perspective, we need to be more proactive and vigilant to ensure all corporations are paying their fair share of taxes so the burden does not fall unfairly on our homeowners."

In May, Maragos reported that the operator of the Nassau Coliseum owes the county nearly $6 million in unpaid rent, utilities, parking and concessions, and an additional $176,000 in ticket taxes dating back to 2011.

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SMG, the Coliseum operator, said it is working with the county and the New York Islanders -- who hold a sublease to the Coliseum -- to settle the unpaid bills.

Last month, the comptroller reported that the NYCB Theatre at Westbury owes Nassau almost $550,000 in unpaid ticket taxes for Jan. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2014.

NYCB disputes the findings, arguing that it often blocked off seats to some events, reducing the 2,900-seat capacity to between 1,600 and 1,800.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.