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Academic

: Conglomerate

The NFL?s legal casuistry

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

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According to today?s WSJ, the National Football League is protesting new IRS rules that require it to disclose the salaries of ?key employees? earning more than $150,000 a year. This disclosure has long been required of charities, but recently expanded to include 501(c)(6) organizations--and the NFL has been specifically listed in that category since Bart Starr led the Packers to victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl I.

One of the reasons the NFL is crying foul is, according to lawyer Martin Gold, ?We?re not a charity and we pay taxes. Therefore, I don?t think the public is subsidizing us.? Uh, not so fast. NFL teams pay taxes. The NFL is a non profit trade association that doesn?t pay taxes?and even some of the dues the teams pay to the NFL are tax deductible. Gold?s machinations are a lawyer?s Statue of Liberty; we should ignore the pump fake and keep our eyes on the ball. The teams are receiving a public benefit by participating in a tax-exempt trade association.

P.S. I had help on that second-to-last sentence. I don't speak football.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on August 25, 2008 (boomark / email).