Taxes - NHL Players

[troutman]

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/westhead-wh...-time-1.106798

Montreal Canadiens players are especially hard hit by the taxman. Subban and Markov, along with goalie Carey Price, hand over a bigger percentage of their compensation than any other players in the league. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson are the only other players in study who pay more than 49 per cent tax, although Karlsson's tax burden would be lower if he uses an RCA.

Salaries compared before and after taxes . . .

[MillerTime GFG]

[Joborule]

Yeesh, you can see why players look to get as much dough as possible in their contracts; they're taking close to only half the amount.

[bubbsy]

maybe i'm alone on this but...

boo-hoo.

[Resolute 14]

The (current) top comment on TSN:

Here we complain about these overpaid players ( which I was one also ) but man why the tax man taking so much If the tax man took less players would want less owner could make less and we the working class could pay less and afford to go to games. Now next question is what is revenue canda doing with all that tax money Let's not open up that can of worms

So much wrong with this statement.

[Arya Stark]

I still don't feel bad...taking home $3.5 million a year is a blessing.

[hamburgler]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

The (current) top comment on TSN:



So much wrong with this statement.

I love that it is the governments fault that this person can't afford to go to a hockey game.

[nickerjones]

Man I feel bad for Americans on Canadian teams. If an American is playing in Canada he will pay Canada's taxes and then pay US tax. There is an exemption to this rule where you don't have to pay tax on up to 98000/yr in the US if you live in Canada. ( Might be more or less but thats a close #).

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

Man I feel bad for Americans on Canadian teams. If an American is playing in Canada he will pay Canada's taxes and then pay US tax. There is an exemption to this rule where you don't have to pay tax on up to 98000/yr in the US if you live in Canada. ( Might be more or less but thats a close #).

Same thing with Canadians living in the US, no?

[Flash Walken]

I'd rather pay 52% tax on 8 Million than 35% tax on 60k.

Interesting how a good agent can save you some money, but I don't think that's a revelation.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Same thing with Canadians living in the US, no?

It depends. I could well be wrong, but IIRC, Canada taxes based on residency. The US taxes based on citizenship. If you live in the US for >6 months out of the year, I think you either pay no Canadian tax, or far less than you would normally.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Nashville's Shea Weber, the best-paid player in the NHL this season with $14 million in compensation, paid an estimated $5.5 million in tax. He plays his home games in Tennessee, one of three U.S. states - along with Texas and Florida - that don't have income tax.

I think what the article was going for here was states with an NHL team that have no income tax. Nevada, Washington State, Alaska and South Dakota also have no state income tax off the top of my head.

[vicarious]

Like most wealthy people, I am sure many NHL players can afford to hire accountants and lawyers whom can advise them on the best kinds of legal tax shelters to reduce their tax burdens and keep more of the money they make.

[Julio]

Originally Posted by vicarious

Like most wealthy people, I am sure many NHL players can afford to hire accountants and lawyers whom can advise them on the best kinds of legal tax shelters to reduce their tax burdens and keep more of the money they make.

Exactly what I was thinking while I was reading the article. If I end up paying a lot lower percentage than the 'official' rate because of education expenses, RRSPs etc, surely NHL players making millions can find ways to reduce their tax burden.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by vicarious

Like most wealthy people, I am sure many NHL players can afford to hire accountants and lawyers whom can advise them on the best kinds of legal tax shelters to reduce their tax burdens and keep more of the money they make.

I think this is much harder if you don't have a company.

[mrkajz44]

The article is misleading in my opinion. Basically, some jurisdictions have have high tax rates (Quebec, California) while others have lower tax rates (Texas, Tennessee). The article seems to gloss over the fact that California is the worst - they always seem to want to slam Canada, when California and New York are worse off than Montreal.

And there is only so much tax planning you can do to lower your taxes. After that, its just evasion or fraud. Both of which anyone would want to avoid at all costs.

[Temporary_User]

I've always heard this for NFL players, so I assume the same hold true for the NHL, but you are taxed based off where you play your games (where you earn your money).

So a Californian team is only paying California tax for their 41 home games plus the number of road games they play at other Californian teams. The rest are split between a number of states and provinces.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

....is it news to you and others are in the highest tax brackets and pay very high taxes?

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

Man I feel bad for Americans on Canadian teams. If an American is playing in Canada he will pay Canada's taxes and then pay US tax. There is an exemption to this rule where you don't have to pay tax on up to 98000/yr in the US if you live in Canada. ( Might be more or less but thats a close #).

You aren't double taxed. If there is an instance where the U.S. tax rate is higher than the one you are paying in Canada then you get an exemption for the amount of "foreign" tax you already paid.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

I've always heard this for NFL players, so I assume the same hold true for the NHL, but you are taxed based off where you play your games (where you earn your money).

So a Californian team is only paying California tax for their 41 home games plus the number of road games they play at other Californian teams. The rest are split between a number of states and provinces.

This is an incredibly dumb question probably...but how does this work when people go on work trips in the "normal" world? Like when I have a buddy travel to Texas for work from Calgary, he's not making money (or paying taxes) in Texas. Wouldn't the same apply to professional sports?