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Originally Posted by DiracSpike
Plus you have a bunch of places that have a combo of nice southern weather and no state tax. Arizona, Vegas, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, Florida...you keep way more of your money and can buy a sick compound with pools and everything you would want for way cheaper. This is a big issue in the NHL, I don’t see any end to a Canadian cup drought in sight when there’s this much of an imbalance. We might have to go to an NBA style system where the team that drafts or trades for a player can pay them more than other teams when they’re UFAs. Toronto better hope they can win before Matthews contract is up because that dude is GONE when his contract is up. Why would you pay millions and millions of dollars in higher taxes to live in a cold snowy bubble when you could be relaxing in the Arizona sun counting your money? It’s a no brainer to me.
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This narrative needs to stop. I've seen it repeated multiple times in the past few weeks and it is so inaccurate and not reflective of reality. Some states have no personal state tax on income (earnings). Arizona is NOT one of them. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming levy no state income tax. New Hampshire and Tennessee don't tax earned wages, meaning investment income is taxed. In all off these states you are still required to pay federal tax on all income, then be exposed to the regular taxes in each state. What matters is the tax burden you end up carrying.
In Florida sales and property taxes are quite high and complex, raising the tax burden to about 6.82%. Coupled with a high cost of living comparative to other states and low quality of services (education and healthcare are all ranked near the bottom of the country) and Florida is no bargain to live in. Nevada has a high sales tax and it is imposed on everything. Sin taxes like those in Canada are imposed on goods like alcohol and cigarettes. The real tax burden in the silver state is 8.39%. Like Florida, service quality from the State is low with their education system taking a hit. Texas is like Florida and raises funds on sales and property taxes leading to a tax burden of 8.2% with a similar hit in public services (poor infrastructure that gets frozen out and shuts down the state for example). Washington relies on high sales and excise taxes and achieves a tax burden of 8.32%. Worse, Washington's cost of living is one of the highest in the nation making it one of the worst for affordability. Tennessee is actually one of the lowest taxed states, with a tax burden of only 6.18%, but the potential for marrying your sister increases greatly the longer you live in the State. Like other states with low taxes, services are also of low quality.
So how does this really compare in the overall picture for states with NHL teams? New York (Rangers, Islanders, Sabres) face a 12.28% tax burden (4.4% personal tax). Minnesota (Wild) face a 10.19% tax burden (3.61% personal tax). New Jersey (Devils) face a 9.88% tax burden (2.4% personal tax). Illinois (Blackhawks) faces a 9.62% tax burden (1.91% personal tax). Ohio (Jackets) faces a 9.34% tax burden (2.58% personal tax). California (Ducks, Kings, Sharks) face a 9.27% tax burden (3.56% personal tax). Massachusetts (Bruins) face a 8.76% tax burden (3.17% personal tax). Pennsylvania (Flyers, Penguins) face a 8.53% tax burden (2.51% personal tax). Colorado (Avs) face a 8.5% tax burden (2.22% personal tax). Washington (Kraken) face a 8.32% tax burden (0% personal tax). Michigan (Wings) face a 8.27% tax burden (2.18% personal tax). Arizona (Houston Red Necks) face a 8.25% tax burden (1.39% personal tax). Texas (Stars) face a 8.5% tax burden (2.22% personal tax). Missouri (Blues) face a 7.9% tax burden (2.38% personal tax). Florida (Lightning, Panthers) face a 6.82% tax burden (0% personal tax). Tennessee (Preds) face a 6.18% tax burden (0.08% personal tax).
So no, certain states do not have taxes, and no player is saving "millions of dollars" in taxes. They still catch you where they can. Those states are also some of the worst to live in if you have a family and have to rely on essential services like education, health services, and good infrastructure. Of course, when you're a millionaire most of these things don't matter to you. Which is why players are still flocking to New York and California based teams to play. The tax dodge is really a myth.