Why is nfl tax exempt

The location? Only a small portion of the NFL, the league office, is actually tax-exempt. Major League Baseball formerly had tax-exempt status but voluntarily gave up the designation back in It would be difficult to make a case that the league is breaking the law.

Politicians, however, largely fail to explain the scope of these tax-exemptions — which are much more limited than they may appear. So the NFL does pay taxes. Recent political posturing exaggerated its value. Remember him calling the exemption a distraction?

When Goodell mishandles an issue like Ray Rice, his paycheck is inevitably thrown in his face. Yes, there are four specific types of businesses exempted, and "professional football leagues" is one of them. However, other sports leagues have been exempted under the "trade association" clause. The NHL remains tax-exempt. In the past few years as public criticism of the league has heightened, a few congressmen from states without NFL teams have tried to get the NFL to justify their tax-exempt status.

After his retirement in , Republican Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz took charge. He most recently introduced the proposed legislation in January. The attention the league's tax-exempt status has received, has led to exclusively negative PR. The PR could get even worse if the league had to testify in front of grandstanding congressmen as to why it shouldn't pay taxes.

The league has apparently decided fighting this fight wasn't worth the trouble. From Goodell's memo:. As you know, the effects of the tax exempt status of the league office have been mischaracterized repeatedly in recent years.

The change in filing status will make no material difference to our business. As a result, the NFL's Committees decided to eliminate this distraction. Quite frankly, not very much. Professional football leagues have been exempt from tax since under section c 6 of the tax code. The Internal Revenue Service has applied the exemption to all professional sports leagues. A proposal in the Senate bill would eliminate the tax-exempt status for professional sports leagues.

While the president called out the NFL as a tax-exempt non-profit, the league actually gave up that position in