(COLUMN) Since the 1960s almost every state in the union has levied a tax against nonresidents who cross stateliness to make a few bucks. For the most part, states do not have the personnel to consistently collect and therefore enforce its levy unevenly and arbitrarily. But high-profile professional athletes who cross state lines to work frequently are easy targets because of team schedules. Therefore, the levy is colloquially called the “jock tax.” Think about how a three to four percent rate impacts players who have tremendously long seasons in sports like Major League Baseball or in the National Basketball Association.
Back in 2000 when former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez signed the richest contract in sports history (10 year/$250 million) it relegated him to a jock tax levy of $520,000 annually or a total of $5.2 million over the life of his contract. California has had a history of being perhaps the most notorious and aggressive state for pursuing the jock tax. During the 1991 NBA Finals, state tax collectors aggressively went after the incomes of the Chicago Bulls players causing the state of Illinois to respond accordingly by going after the Lakers squad. Even though they lost in five games, one could argue that the Lakers had a slight financial incentive to go down in defeat in quick fashion. California has also been notorious for levying the jock tax against teams displaced by natural disasters like the Miami Dolphins during Hurricane Irma.
The only locations where there seems to be no evidence of the jock tax ever being levied are the states of Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia. Of course, the average American laborer will not feel much sympathy for someone making such an exorbitant income who well insulated to absorb the jock tax. However, what should be more of a concern for a regular multiple state wage earner is how aggressively the states press professional sports teams to have their superstars pony up. Several years ago, former Pittsburg Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen accidentally left his bank statement in a dugout after his team played the Chicago Cubs. A fan found the statement and posted it online and it showed in less than a month’s time, the states of Ohio, Illinois. Arizona and California insisted that the Pirates front office accounts payable set aside and pay directly McCutchen’s owed taxes ahead of his next check.
Many of us believe that high salary, high profile athletes like many other high earners should pay their fair share. And by virtue of the lives they have chosen as public figures, easy access to their work schedules to pursue the jock tax is part of the fabric. Many people live right here in Greenville and travel across the Mississippi River Bridge each day to work in Arkansas. And having been among them in a previous line of work, it was no fun getting hit with the jock tax without the financial cushion of a multi-million-dollar salary.
Patrick Ervin is a freelance writer who has been writing about sports and other topics going on in the Delta for more than two decades.
