Concord, New Hampshire — New Hampshire is a skier’s state. Even its politicians are avid about it, which includes its current Governor, Kelly Ayotte. Granite Staters are also passionate about having as few taxes as possible, which includes not having a sales tax. Those two passions have resulted in a clash with Vail Resorts.
Yesterday, the State of New Hampshire’s Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into whether a new tax created by Vail Resorts qualifies as a sales tax. Vail Resorts owns and/or operates four ski resorts in the state, which include Attitash, Crotched Mountain, Mount Sunapee, and Wildcat.
In April, New England Ski Industry reported that Epic Passes for the 2026-27 season now include a 3.2% blended sales tax. This charge applies to purchasers, including those who live in New Hampshire. The Granite State is one of the only states that doesn’t have a sales tax.
“New Hampshire is proud to have no sales tax, and we’re not going to let an out-of-state company try to sneak one in,” said Governor Ayotte. “The attorney general will thoroughly investigate Vail Resorts’ attempt to charge a sales tax on Granite State skiers.”
Vail Resorts is reportedly in contact with the Governor and the AG’s office. However, it doesn’t appear they’re backing down from the tax. They issued the following statement to news outlets:
“We are pleased to provide a wide variety of options for our guests to access our resorts by offering both lift tickets that are resort-specific and passes that provide access to multiple resorts. Vail Resorts does not charge tax on New Hampshire goods or services, including on lift tickets that provide access to our New Hampshire resorts. The Epic Pass and Northeast Value Pass include access to resorts outside of New Hampshire, so those pass products do include the sales and admission taxes that we are legally required to charge for those resorts. It’s also worth noting that our Passes provide a better value and more choice than other season passes with access to only New Hampshire resorts.”
Why This Matters
It matters because the state has a working relationship with Vail Resorts.
Mount Sunapee State Park is owned by the State of New Hampshire. The ski resort within it, Mount Sunapee, is operated by Vail Resorts under a lease agreement. Vail Resorts acquired the lease following the Mueller family’s sale of Triple Peaks, which included Sunapee, Okemo, and Crested Butte. As required under its lease, the ski resort is expected to submit an annual operating plan and a new master development plan later this year. If it doesn’t comply with the lease’s rules, the state can terminate the contract.
Whether this would impact the relationship between the two sides is unclear, but it’s clearly not an ideal situation for Vail Resorts’ legal team, which has been fairly busy lately.
Image/Video Credits: Casey Willax, Kelly Ayotte, Mount Sunapee Resort
