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Posted on 10/10/2025 5:33:39 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
Pennsylvania’s highest court has declared that Pittsburgh’s attempt to force all athletes who compete in the city to pay a tax, even if they aren’t Pennsylvania residents, is unconstitutional and unfair.
The city had passed the tax more than a decade ago, forcing visiting athletes to pay an income tax just for the privilege of playing there. But the state’s supreme court has ruled that the tax unconstitutionally discriminates against nonresidents, according to Legal Newsline.
The ruling is a win for MLB, NHL, and NFL players who visit Pittsburgh to play the city’s home teams.
The lawsuit was brought way back in 2016 by hockey players Kyle Palmieri and Scott Wilson, and former MLB player Jeff Francoeur, after Wilson discovered he was required to pay the city $6,000 to play a single game in Pittsburgh.
The city claimed it had a right to tax visiting players at a three percent rate because its stadiums and arenas had been paid for in part with tax dollars.
But the court disagreed.
“[W]e must determine whether there exists ‘some concrete justification’ for treating the relevant taxpayers as members of distinguishable classes,” state Supreme Court Justice David Wecht wrote in the decision.
“Absent such a legitimate distinction, the imposition of unequal tax burdens upon similarly situated taxpayers is unconstitutional. Here, the City does not provide concrete reasons that would justify taxing nonresident athletes and entertainers more than resident athletes and entertainers,” Wecht added.
The city lost its case in 2022 and again in the Commonwealth Court in 2024. Now the state’s supreme court has upheld the lower courts.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
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About time these blue cities were called out for highway robbery.
What’s next, simply driving through the city on a public road would get you taxed a percentage of your income.
NOW make ALL these Blue “shithole” cities pay back every $$$ they illegally confiscated.
Pay Back WITH INTEREST!!!
Like THAT will ever happen.
“Taxation without representation.”
The cities (Pitt/Philly) were already making revenues off of the very events themselves, and the athletes were making that possible.
Close. Places like New York City have tried to implement "congestion pricing" in addition to any gas tax or tolls you've already paid while the locals, who don't cross the margin lines, don't pay the "congestion pricing" fee.
Most of these cities have hotel and entertainment taxes that are aimed at tourists. Tax someone for services they never receive such as education spending, public works, government, law enforcement, etc.
Aggressive enforcement of the athletes tax was first implemented by California during the 1991 NBA Finals to attack the Chicago Bulls, and Illinois reacted back.
This overtaxing of players is seemingly unconstitutional. It was payback for losing.
If the jock tax is unconstitutional, NASCAR is likely to benefit. Since they are based in Florida, with no income tax, the cheques for most races will come from Florida and not be subject to income tax. The NHL has had an advantage in Florida because of no income taxes. In 2020, during the pandemic-restarted “The Voice,” the Spanish language version contestants’ prizes were better than the English-language version, because the Spanish language version was in Miami, while English was in Los Angeles.
It was Lakers targeting Bulls then, and this is an example of absurd taxation.
Liberal greed knows no bounds.
Here, in oregon, gov kotek wants to double auto registration fees, increase gas tax,
a new charge for electric and hybrid vehicle drivers, etc.
Disposable income will soon be dead and gone.
does Pittsburgh now have to pay back all of the illegally collected taxes ... i foresee a giant class action lawsuit if they don’t ...
The corrupt Democrat bastard politicians in the city would try that. Anything to get their sticky fingers on more cash.
a giant class action lawsuit should get their attention ...
Why not tax truck drivers delivering goods inside the city?
They probably copied this little trick from New York.
You might remember that they tried to tax Rush for years after he moved to Florida to escape NY’s taxes.
I believe that NY audited Rush every year until his death.
The "Jock Tax" was copied from California in relation to the 1991 NBA Playoffs (Bulls vs Lakers). See Post 7 by WhiteHatBobby0701
Family Feud, for example, takes advantage of lower taxes in Georgia than California when contestants are paid their winnings, and trip prizes for five wins. However, the game show is notorious for paying the winner of the day less than $1,000 if they fail to win Fast Money that day, which has to be changed.
Since the trip to Atlanta isn’t paid by the producers unless a family wins a Friday episode before a long taping break, the rules should be similar to Jeopardy! The last rule change was players are not paid for the main game. This rule change was made in 1991.
In all versions prior to the CBS Family Feud Challenge hour in 1991, a family was paid their score, minimum $250, with the winners, with $300, could simply win $1,000 a day with as few as 140 points in Fast Money. (If a family won with 500 points in a clean-sweep, they won $500 in that game, for example.)
Since the Challenge in 1991 used by the syndicated version under Jonathan Goodson’s watch, neither family won what they scored in the main game. The winner was paid only in Fast Money, which allowed them to pay less.
In the recent South African version (also hosted by Steve Harvey, who traveled from Atlanta), both families are paid 50 rand a point, and Fast Money losers are paid 50 rand a point, while winners are paid 75,000 rand plus main game winnings.
Here’s how I would do it:
Losers paid flat $2,000 OR $10 per point, whichever is higher.
Winners of the day paid $10 per point in the main game AND $20,000 for Fast Money. A loss is $10 per point.
When I visit another state, I don’t want to pay their sales tax.
When I speed through Hazzard county I don’t want to pay Boss Hogg’s speed trap tax.
What’s next? A “Congestion Tax” similar to that imposed upon citizens who commuted by car in London, England? NYC has one. Relatively easy to impliment, too with EZ Pass and Digital Traffic Cameras everywhere.
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