Legal Trend: Taxing Professional Athletes

Cleveland has a jock tax that taxes visiting professional athletes. Taxing people who can’t vote for you is always smart, as they can’t vote you out of office.

This tax scheme was foiled not by voters, but by the Ohio Supreme Court. The Court did not like the method by which Cleveland used to calculate the tax, which was a games played method. 

Here’s an example of Cleveland’s “jock tax” from the Wall Street Journal:

“Mr. Hillenmeyer, a former Chicago Bears linebacker who retired in 2010, played one game a year in Cleveland — over a 20-game season — between 2004 and 2006. Cleveland applied its income tax to 5% (1/20) of his earnings.”

WallStreet Journal