Everything is a scam: “This is your reminder that Bass Pro Shops doesn't pay federal taxes...

because they call themselves a museum because of their aquarium”

- Bass Pro Shops has also secured significant taxpayer-funded subsidies—estimated at over $911 million since 1995
- The tax exemptions apply to specific locations only, not all. Some Bass Pro Shops stores have received local and state tax breaks by designating portions of their facilities (like aquariums or wildlife exhibits) as “museums” or public attractions
- Local governments have provided subsidies for Bass Pro Shops stores under the pretense that their aquariums or displays serve a public purpose, such as tourism or education. (In Hazelwood, Missouri, a city-owned “museum” within a Cabela’s (owned by Bass Pro) received $5.82 million in funding, and in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, 15% of a Cabela’s store was declared a tax-exempt museum)
- Many of their retail locations are taxed but for the locations being allowed these loopholes because of their large fountain areas, it’s very shady