Posted on 10/09/2017 6:18:28 PM PDT by markomalley
Congressman Gaetz went on with Liz Wheeler on OANN to discuss ending the NFL tax breaks.
PNJ.com reported:
Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling on Congress to end the tax-exempt status of the NFLs business office in the wake of controversy over players and team owners kneeling during the national anthem.
Gaetz, Northwest Floridas Republican congressman, took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday and said players have a constitutional right to free speech, but Americans shouldnt subsidize a sport whose players act unpatriotically.
When people kneel during our national anthem, they dont simply indict the issue with which they have some particular grievance, said Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach. They indict our country, our service members, our first-responders, our founding fathers and the principles that made this country great.
The NFL league office gave up its tax exempt status in 2015.
All it takes is a quick search and you can find all kinds of links to support the fact that that the league office gave up tax exempt status in 2015.
Profit-making businesses cooperate to promote their type of business generally through the use of non-profit organizations. In this respect, pro sports and any other kind of entertainment are no different than any industry promoting its general image.
If you mean to say that no profit-making businesses should be entitled to form non-profits to promote their economic sector, I might agree.
Pro sports leagues would seem unlikely to lose antitrust exemption. The league processes of amateur drafts, minimum pay, salary caps, territorial franchise rights, etc, make pro sports competitive and thus entertaining. Those practices would not be allowed in business sectors without exemption.
Tax exemptions for the nfl?
That means even though i do not support these evil dumbasses i am having to subsidize the league?
Also help pay for their billion dollar stadiums?
Hey congress, get off you pathetic lazy asses and quit this madness.
What is the NFL's source of revenues?
I'll bet the league gets no revenues other than an annual fee paid by every team to support its operations. It really functions no differently than a Chamber of Commerce or industry trade association.
Since the NFL is now considered a for-profit corporation, what NFL revenue would be reported as income?
“what NFL revenue would be reported as income?”
You are just about to step into the graft side of it. Every “business” has earnings. Even organizations like the Salvation Army has worth and income. For instance, they own a $12M housing project in Tampa, Florida where their execs live free in $300T homes with a jacuzzi. Nation wide they own an estimated $75M real estate portfolio. Part church, part charity, part business.
The NFL is a business that takes in a percentage of the gate, TV revenues, paraphernalia sales, and pays employee office staff people and have modified personal services contracts with their players, coaches, and field staff. They have attorneys and doctors under retention, and in some cases like in Green Bay, they are part owners of the stadium.
Another team, the Oakland Raiders, last year brought in an estimated revenue of $321M with an operating income of $41M and players expenses at $194M. All covered by income. These numbers are just one team. You can imagine what 30 teams mean.
Now, as to why they never paid taxes before? In my mind they made a deal with the tax ruling people. And they are not alone as all sports get into this game. They generate a tremendous amount of revenue in their wake. Last year’s Super Bowl (played in Glendale but with Scottsdale and Phoenix hosting events) produced a gross economic impact of $719.4 million for the entire state, according to a study from Seidman Research Institute and the School of Business at Arizona State University. And according to Forbes, NFL owners are minting money thanks to hefty TV contracts and a favorable labor deal with the players. Operating profits (earnings, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) were a record $101 million per team last season, with every team north of $40 million. The $3.2 billion in league-wide income is $500 million more than the combined earnings of teams in the NBA, NHL and MLB.
So when you look at the income they produce for their cities and the league, it would be a real stupid mistake for the government to try to mess with it. It is never discussed or investigated by the IRS. It kind of fell under the guise of it wasn’t broke.........
I have no idea how much taxable income they produce for themselves. Everything is an estimate, probably low. You guess is as good as mine.
rwood
The revenues from the gate, TV revenues, merchandise sales, etc. are reported as gross income by the teams, not by the NFL as its own corporate entity. NFL, Inc. is really nothing more than the administrative arm of the league, which is why it was: (1) legally allowed to file as a non-profit corporation in the past, and (2) will report no profits even though it is no longer a non-profit corporation.
Okay, here is what I think on the “front office.”
We know Roger Goodell, by himself made $44 million in the fiscal year ending in March 2013 because nonprofits have to report their executive pay to the IRS in a publicly available filing. This led to ridicule, because, jeez, Roger Goodell makes $44 million to run a nonprofit?
By moving into a taxable status the amount the commissioner makes will go under wraps and will not be any of the public’s business. The effects of the tax exempt status of the league office have been mischaracterized repeatedly in recent years. The change in filing status will make no material difference to the business, but as a result, the (NFL’s) Committees decided to eliminate this distraction.
In other words, everyone knows they were making it, and could easily find out how. Now, they can’t. And the amount of taxes being paid by the committees and owners still leaves a monster income.
But I also get the feeling if the big guy gets nailed again in the future, you may, silently, see this exempt status return. They have enough PR headaches in the league without this adding to it and they know it.
rwood
>> Who needs research when there is Robert Maplethorp and his “Piss Christi?”<<
Yep, you’re right on the money. Self-evident isn’t it?
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