At the recent Bensalem School District Community Budget Q&A, an audience member asked about the township’s “amusement tax” — and whether any of it goes to the school district. Many people in the room, including some board members, weren’t sure. It’s a fair question, and the answer is worth unpacking.
What Bensalem’s amusement tax is
Bensalem has a local amusement tax on tickets and admission charges for most kinds of entertainment within the township. Under Article I, Amusement Tax, of Chapter 210 of the township code, the tax applies broadly to “all manner and forms of entertainment,” including concerts, carnivals, fairs, amusement parks, athletic contests, bowling, billiards, golf, skating, dance halls, nightclubs, and similar venues where the public pays to attend or participate.
How much the township charges
The ordinance sets the amusement tax at $0.01 for every $0.10 of the ticket price — a flat 10 percent on the admission charge. If admission is bundled with food, drink, or merchandise rather than sold as a separate ticket, the code assumes 50 percent of what you pay is the admission charge and calculates the tax on that portion.
Who pays and who collects
Legally, the tax is imposed on the person buying the ticket or paying to participate. In practice, the operator or “producer” of the event or venue is required to collect the tax on each admission and remit it to the township as the township’s agent.
Where the money actually goes
This is the key point. Section 210‑10 of the township code is explicit: all amusement tax revenue, plus any interest and penalties, “shall be paid into the treasury of the Township for the use and benefit of the Township.”
The existing amusement tax is a general revenue source for Bensalem Township. It is not earmarked for the Bensalem Township School District.
How the school district is mentioned in the code
The ordinance mentions the school district only in its exemption section — not in the revenue section. Admissions to events whose net proceeds go exclusively to religious, educational, or charitable organizations — specifically including “public schools of the school district of Bensalem Township” — are exempt from the tax when certain conditions are met.
In other words, school-run fundraisers often avoid paying the amusement tax — they don’t receive money from it.
What residents often assume vs. what the law says
Based on comments at the outreach meeting, some residents believed the amusement tax is “supposed to go to the schools.” Bensalem’s ordinance treats the amusement tax as a township revenue tool, with school-related events often exempted from paying it rather than funded by it.
Could the school district create its own amusement tax?
Yes. Separate from the township’s ordinance, the Bensalem Township School District appears to have its own authority under state law to levy an amusement tax if the board chooses to pursue one, subject to the limits and conditions in Act 511.
Pennsylvania’s Local Tax Enabling Act — commonly called Act 511 — allows school districts and municipalities to adopt certain non-property taxes, including an amusement tax on admissions to places of amusement, entertainment, or recreation, within state-set limits.
If the school board decided to pursue an Act 511 amusement tax, it would need to pass its own tax resolution or ordinance, separate from the township’s Chapter 210. Revenue would appear in the district budget as “Act 511 – Amusement Tax” alongside other non-property taxes like the real estate transfer tax.
What the district could charge
In practice, Pennsylvania municipalities and school districts that levy an amusement tax typically set rates somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the admission price, and 10 percent is commonly treated as the upper end for local amusement taxes. Bensalem Township already sits at 10 percent under its existing ordinance — so any separate school district amusement tax would be on top of what the township already charges on the same admission.
But here’s the catch: Pennsylvania’s Local Tax Enabling Act allows both municipalities and school districts to levy an amusement tax. Bensalem Township already charges 10% on admissions under its own ordinance. In concept, the school district could adopt a separate amusement tax as an Act 511 levy. However, whether the district could impose an additional full 10% on top of the township’s existing 10%—for a combined 20%—depends on detailed state limits and grandfather rules on admissions and amusement taxes. District officials would need a legal opinion before pursuing any specific rate.
The bottom line
Bensalem’s existing amusement tax funds township government, not the school district. State law gives the board the option to consider a separate Act 511 amusement tax — but that would be a new policy choice requiring a formal legal opinion on what rates are actually permitted, especially on top of the township’s existing 10 percent.
