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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/28/1380932/-National-Football-League-to-voluntarily-give-up-tax-exempt-status?detail=facebook_sf
Tue Apr 28, 2015 at 10:29 AM PDT
National Football League to voluntarily give up tax-exempt status
by Jen Hayden
Tired of the "distraction", the NFL is moving on.
Two years ago, we began to loudly question why the National Football League had a "non-profit" status. Daily Kos launched a petition gathered nearly 350,000 signatures and the story has continued to grow.
Today the NFL has made a surprising announcement:
Goodell says the change will not alter the function or operation of the league, since all the teams already pay taxes.
Some members of Congress have criticized the NFL, which generates billions in revenue, for being tax-exempt. Goodell says the status has become a "distraction."
Congrats to you, the Daily Kos readers who took action and kept up the pressure on Congress and the NFL.
underpants
(182,805 posts)Way to go Kos.
THAT was unexpected
babylonsister
(171,066 posts)underpants
(182,805 posts)Apparently the NFL is playing this off as a mere headache
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)roguevalley
(40,656 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)given all the reading I have been doing on the economics of sport.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)the NFL?
underpants
(182,805 posts)BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)I worked on a film about a biographical story that featured a player and his team. The studio had to pay the NFL $75 million plus a share of the gross. Anywhere where an NFL team is mentioned has a fee. The fact that they may pay taxes on it is shocking.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)former9thward
(32,009 posts)"The fact is that the business of the NFL has never been tax exempt," Goodell wrote. "Every dollar of income generated through television rights fees, licensing agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales, and other means is earned by the 32 clubs and is taxable there."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12780874/nfl-league-office-gives-tax-exempt-status
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)jeff47
(26,549 posts)The NFL is mostly a pass-through to the teams, and all but one of those are taxed as for-profit companies. (The Packers are publicly-owned and non-profit)
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Which is a shame
Malraiders
(444 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)progressoid
(49,990 posts)They'll make a couple payments to boost their PR image and then jump through a bunch of loopholes.
Sgent
(5,857 posts)at most there were some advantages in terms of GAAP reporting (financial reporting to creditors, etc.) which may have made some team balance sheets look better especially if they were looking for stadium expansions, etc.
As a for profit enterprise:
Income
- Expenses
- Payments to owners of everything else
_________
No taxable income
As a non-profit:
Income
- Expenses
- Payments to owners of everything else
_____________
no taxes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2013/06/01/nfl-as-tax-exempt-less-than-meets-the-eye/
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)The NFL is a money-printing machine and should be paying taxes.
And I am a die-hard NFL fan.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Almost all of the money is sent to the teams. All but one team were taxed as for-profit corporations. (The Packers are non-profit)
This change will mean extremely little.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)The amount of cash flowing through the NFL entity is minimal. The NFL usually has a net loss anyway.
It will hardly contribute a single dime to the Treasury, nor will it have any financial impact on the NFl.
former9thward
(32,009 posts)Goodell, who has earned an average of $18.8 million a year during his first eight years as commissioner, pulled in $44.2 million in 2012 and $35 million in 2013, according to the IRS filings.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12780874/nfl-league-office-gives-tax-exempt-status
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)in the history of the universe.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I thought it operated at a loss?
Angleae
(4,482 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)I mean, it just seems like a lot of people get very worked up over something that doesn't actually cost the government any tax money.