Although some of the opinions of TCS can be faulted and their sources unacceptable [like the Moonie paper], taxpayer subsidies need to be challenged and the irrational expenditures questioned.
From Taxpayers for Common Sense:
Super
Subsidy Bowl
Volume XIX No. 4: January 24, 2014
Next Sunday,
people the world over will be crowding around televisions to watch the Denver
Broncos and Seattle Seahawks slug it out in Super Bowl XLVIII. This year’s game,
in MetLife Stadium across the river from New York City, will be the first one
ever played outdoors in cold weather, and ticket and advertising prices have
skyrocketed. Any American spectators should pay special attention, because
they’re helping subsidize the whole lavish production. In fact, in a couple
months when taxpayers are sweating over tax forms and writing checks to the IRS,
the National Football League (NFL) will be relaxing, basking in their tax-exempt
nonprofit status. That’s right. While the individual teams in this multi-billion
dollar industry are for-profit, the league that governs them, and emblazons its
logo over every ticket, uniform, or trinket the teams touch, is not.
The
NFL hasn’t had to pay any taxes to the IRS since it applied for nonprofit status
in 1942. That status was cemented into permanent law in 1966 when one small
section of Public Law 89-800 redefined tax-exempt trade
associations in the IRS code section 501(c)6 to include, explicitly,
“professional football leagues.” The language hasn’t changed since.
In context, the
exemption for professional football in the tax code is almost ironic. In
particular, the NFL seems to obviously violate what’s called the “prohibition
against private inurement” for 501(c)6 nonprofits. The Joint Committee on
Taxation (JCT) explains that no tax-exempt organization in the
same category as the NFL can use its “assets for the benefit of a person or
entity with a close relationship to the organization.” What about those
multi-billion dollar NFL franchises? What about their billionaire owners?
Shouldn’t they count?
Looking at how the NFL generates wealth for the
teams and their owners, it’s hard to see why they don’t. This year, the NFL was
projected to rake in $9-$10 billion in revenue. The majority of that
income from the sale of tickets and television broadcasting rights goes straight
to the teams. The NFL gets a slice of the pie, but only indirectly, through
annual dues each of the 32 teams pay the NFL. Tax forms indicate that in 2011 (the most recent year available) those
dues added up to $254.6 million. The money is used by the NFL to promote the
business of professional football and thereby enriches the teams and owners. And
the league is doing it well. In 2013, 30 of the top 50 most valuable sports franchises in the
world were NFL teams. The only two not to make the cut, the St. Louis Rams and
Jacksonville Jaguars, came in 51st and 52nd. It sounds like the NFL is using its
assets to do plenty of “inuring” for the benefit of the privately held
teams.
Of course, the NFL isn’t hurting for cash either. In 2011, the
seven members of the NFL’s board of directors and its former commissioner made
$65.9 million collectively. Roger Goodell, the current commissioner, was paid
just over $30 million alone. There’s also the $36 million it spent to construct
plush new offices on Park Avenue in New York City, or the $14 million it paid in
rent for them.
How much the tax-exemption for the NFL is bowling over
taxpayers is unclear. The JCT estimates the 10-year cost to be approximately
$109 million, while Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who has filed legislation that would end the practice, estimates it could be as much as $91 million a
year. Though the money matters, the principle of the giveaway is almost worse.
America loves football, but that doesn’t mean American taxpayers should funnel
millions of tax dollars to billionaires.
As Super Bowl XLVIII draw
closer, fans will be hard pressed not to notice the money being made everywhere
and the league’s largesse. The NFL has taken over 14 blocks of Broadway in New
York City, dubbing it “Super Bowl Boulevard,” and constructed a six
story-tall toboggan slide in Times Square. The game is being played on February
2nd, Groundhog Day. Taxpayers should hope that Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow doesn’t
just signal the end of winter, but also taxpayer subsidies for the NFL sliding
to an end.
Congress Gives $62 Million to USEC, Just Weeks Away from Its Bankruptcy
Great charts on link:
Big Oil Rakes in Added Billions While Taxpayer Subsidies Continue: 2013 Third Quarter Results
The third quarter of 2013 brought more multi-billion dollar profits for the oil and gas industry. So far this year, just six of the largest oil companies recorded more than $82 billion in profits—making it still one of the most lucrative industries in the world. The industry as a whole spends on average $300,000 per day lobbying Congress and employs more than 700 lobbyists, more than one per member of Congress. Not surprisingly, U.S. taxpayers continue to subsidize the oil industry despite their billion-dollar profits.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Super Subsidy Bowl
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