The NHL and NBA May Soon Hate Tennessee
NBA, NFL, NHL, Politics June 5th. 2009, 1:15pm
Soak the rich … athletes?
A new bill sponsored by Tennessee State Rep. G.A. Hardaway of Memphis would impose a privilege tax of up to $2,500 on professional basketball and hockey players when their teams play in Tennessee. Under House Bill 0019, Tennessee would tax athletes and entertainers performing in the state who make more than $50,000 a year.
The NFL is not included in this bill. Why?
Some lawmakers objected yesterday to exempting pro football players, but Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr said NFL rules would have penalized the state had it included their guys.
Why don’t the NBA and NHL have such rules in a place? Not that it matters much - when you soak the rich, as that Wall Street Journal article linked up top shows, you lose the rich. Both the Predators and Grizzlies have been at the center of many rumors about relocating.
Tennessee bill would impose tax on NHL players (On the Forecheck)
Proposed Tennessee bill would tax visiting NBA, NHL players (Memphis Biz Journal)
48 Responses to “The NHL and NBA May Soon Hate Tennessee”
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June 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Because the Titans attendance is more than 50 people per game.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
So, how exactly does the NFL penalize a state?
June 5th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
How will they go about taxing Kiffin’s recruits?
June 5th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I had 5 points before I clicked on the jump, but you explained them all already. Good work, sir.
kentucky would impose the smae thing, but we have no professional teams…unless you count Cats basketball. BA-ZING!
I heard that the Preds have tried to move three times since they started in Nashville. The Sommet Center is too nice for the shit.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I am shocked — shocked! — that this was put forth by a Democrat.
/political Friday’d
June 5th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
The “Jittery” Vince Young already has enough to worry about.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
@FansAttic - good job on the gravatar.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Oh my God, he’s back.
Where ya been, Maggs? Too quiet without you here.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
What the fuck?! MAGGS?!
Oh, how time has ravished your once youthful looks.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
ed hochuli is somehow involved
June 5th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
im easing into it slowly, like you might the ocean on the east coast in early june.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Penny?
June 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
That’s how they got him to commit to memphis
June 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
A Tennessee post? Dont you guys miss the old days when a nice little hat post would have been here instead?
June 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
So basically they’d be taxing even the shittiest entertainers alive.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
The only thing dumber than this in TN right now is the fact that the Nashville NBC affiliate isn’t playing the French Open right now, instead opting to play infomercials and something called “More at Midday.”
June 5th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Ok, so with the Grizzlies and the Predators combined, we are talking about 40 guys. So $100,000 per year. I guarantee Tennessee pays more just trying to get that law passed.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
First off, neither the Preds nor the Grizzlies are leaving anytime soon. The Preds were bought up by a Nashville based collective of investors who invested in the team solely because they wanted to keep them here. They don’t care about making a profit, they care about investing in downtown Nashville. Attendance numbers are solid and the team is performing well.
The Griz probably could (and arguably should) leave Memphis, but they’re lock-in with an airtight clause in the lease for the Fed Ex Forum. Someone would have to pay insane money to buy the team and move them.
Last point: this tax is ludicrous, but it’s also already in effect in many, many states across the nation. What our legislature is looking at doing is getting in line with everyone else.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
that’s a pretty horrible tax. i understand increasing state tax on an income bracket, but to targer a certain profession is a bit extreme.
although i’d like to see what tax they decide to levy once all the NFL and NBA players move out of state and concert just don’t go play there any more.
that’s a bit ridiculous when your state is considered one of the best places for live music in the country.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Phew! So Dustin Diamond can continue his stand-up tour with no worries.
Anyone have a link to watch the French Open?
June 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Where have I been?
The details of my life are quite inconsequential… very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we’d make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum… it’s breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
So basically they’d be taxing even the shittiest entertainers alive.
I hear that The Statler Brothers are pissed about this.
/Don’t forget the Grand Ole Opry
June 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I am really anxious to see what Kige Ramsey has to say about this.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
link
June 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Maggs, please no Biblical quotes here.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
TAX THE RICH!!!!
/bangs fist on desk.
in other my-home-state-is-fucking-stupid-news, US Congressman Steve Cohen (Democrat, House) has decided to take on the NBA’s age limit.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
TBL, stop mentioning that WSJ article about soaking the rich. It’s analysis was horribly weak and almost purposely left out facts that would be pertinent. It ignored the regional nature of business (such as the impact of the Tri-state area). It ignored which industries exist in each state (energy driving the growth in Texas). It ignored cost of living adjustments when comparing average spend per student.
While I don’t agree with “soaking the rich” for political gain, neither do I agree with articles like this that ignore the real argument around tax policy.
/rant over. back to sports.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Another major point TBL isn’t getting or explaining: the tax is levied on out-of-state players who play games in Tennessee, not on people who claim TN as their primary residence. Players for the Grizzlies and Preds won’t pay a dime because they’re TN residents already.
Basically, if you do a contract job in another state, you have to pay taxes there. All this bill is doing is holding entertainers responsible for a one-night gig the same way we’d be responsible for a six month gig.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
duder: http://24xtv.com/sources/ustr3.html
June 5th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
This is Obama’s fault
/Fox News’d
//CNBC’d
June 5th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
From the post above:
A new bill sponsored by Tennessee State Rep. G.A. Hardaway of Memphis would impose a privilege tax of up to $2,500 on professional basketball and hockey players when their teams play in Tennessee.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but does TN even have a standard wage tax? I thought they were like FL.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Obama inherited this problem from Bush
/CNBC’d
//Fox News’d
June 5th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
roeth - no state income tax in TN.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
does TN even have a standard wage tax?
Nope. There is no state income tax for residents of TN.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Federer broke del Petro first game in the 5th set.
/too bad we can’t see it
June 5th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
But don’t the Tigers play there too? If they can pay their players surely they can afford to cover the Grizzlies portion of the lease, right?
June 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Exactly! +1 Souvenir
Yeah, those Republicans never tax anything of course (at least not through the front door, but at the gas pump, interest, higher local taxes to make up for fed shortfalls, et cetera — that’s the “free” market system you know)
More of your Neocon Wall Street GOP horseshit Mike, and I am no Democrat either.
-1 Mike Loss Of 5 Yards Loss Of Down
June 5th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I am shocked — shocked! — that this was put forth by a Democrat.
Believe me, a Tennessee Democrat is more right wing than most of the Republican party.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
/new entrant in the unofficial contest here for the Crown Title of More Interesting Than The Most Interesting Man
June 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
they could just declare bankruptcy to help get out of their lease like the phoenix coyotes
June 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
They are pandering the to the dominant redneck constituency — so what?
That’s exactly why I won’t live in the South again either. Too much inbreeding amongst the “good ‘ol boys” and old money.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Speaking of taxes, MikeNYC, have you seen this?
June 5th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Where did you live in the South with all this “old money”? You’ve had more residences than years on your life it seems…
@ Magglio: Nice Myers quote, well played.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
well, doesn’t get much more prejudice than that. well done, Paolo. You have made an ass of yourself today. take a bow.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
That’s exactly why I won’t live in the South again either. Too much inbreeding amongst the “good ‘ol boys†and old money.
That’s right, consolidation of power and inherited money are the exclusive domain of the South… the Daly family would like to have a word with you.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Other states that don’t have state income taxes do not charge athletes/entertainers tax when they perform in the state. I seriously doubt this law would pass constitutional muster, especially considering they’re exempting the NFL from it.
This would KILL Bonnaroo…so I seriously doubt it passes.
June 5th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Bring back the Whale!