Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Booker's Bill Targets Sports Leagues’ Tax-Exempt Status


Should the NFL continue to reap the benefits of its tax exempt status while it condones wife beaters, child abusers, thugs & gangsters?  NJ's U.S. Senator Cory Booker and others don't think so.


From today's New York Times:

Amid uproar over the N.F.L.’s handling of domestic abuse cases involving some of its players, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, has introduced a bill that would disallow major professional sports leagues, most notably the N.F.L., from claiming status as tax-exempt nonprofits.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker

The bill is aimed at raising $100 million over 10 years, according to Booker’s office, which would be used to pay for state domestic abuse programs across the country. It is unlikely to gain widespread support.

Under the tax code, N.F.L. teams pay taxes, but the league office, which is funded by dues from its franchises, does not. The league has enjoyed this status, which is similar to those granted to industry associations, since the 1960s.

Other prominent leagues that have a similar status, including the N.H.L. and the women’s and men’s golf and tennis associations, would also be affected.

But, the bill, called the Securing Assistance for Victim Empowerment (SAVE) Act, faces a steep slope to passage. Closing this so-called loophole, which exists under 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, has been a hobbyhorse of the retiring Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who pushed for such a bill but was repeatedly unable to gain co-sponsors....

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