RELATED: Federal News Release |British Columbia News Release
CALGARY, AB: A paper co-authored by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) and Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) reveals that Alberta has dropped from first to fifth most financially attractive destination for NHL players after the provincial tax hike that kicked in on October 1st.
The new report, entitled Major Penalty for High Taxes, looks at NHL team salary spending, tax rates in the relevant provincial or state, and the “true cap,” which is the impact taxes have on the salary cap. The report also examined the tax impact of various off-season trades on players’ incomes.
The Prentice/Notley tax hike means an additional $219,565 in taxes will hit Edmonton Oilers forwards Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Calgary Flames’ Dennis Wideman faces an extra $191,440. Oilers Teddy Purcell and Nikita Nikitin will be paying an extra $163,315 along with Flames goalie Jonas Hiller.
“The numbers don’t lie; NHL players take a financial hit to play in certain jurisdictions,” said paper author and CTF Research Director Jeff Bowes. “Obviously, there are other factors at play besides taxes, but the fact remains that significant disparities in tax rates can penalize players when they move between teams.”
Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay and Nashville all rank among the best places to play from an income tax standpoint, leapfrogging Calgary and Edmonton this year.
“Would Taylor Hall have signed for the same amount if he’d known he’d be slapped with over a million dollars in additional income taxes over the course of his contract?” asked CTF Alberta Director Paige MacPherson. “Would Dennis Wideman have taken what he did with the Flames if he knew it meant forking over an additional $401,080? Perhaps they would have asked for larger contracts if they knew what Premier Prentice and Premier Notley had in store.”
In addition to NHL players moving to lower tax jurisdictions, internal migration patterns in both Canada and the US show a move towards the lower-tax states and provinces. Since 2005, Alberta – the province with the lowest taxes for those earning $200,000 – has seen a net migration of 248,197 people from other parts of Canada. B.C. has the second lowest income tax for those earning $200,000 and that province saw the second largest net migration, with a gain of 68,833.
Conversely, Quebec has the highest taxes on those earning $200,000 and had the second highest net migration loss, losing 90,618 people since 2005.
“NHL players aren’t all that different from other highly skilled workers who have the ability to move provinces or countries. The same concept applies for doctors, engineers and CEOs of major companies,” said MacPherson. “Alberta used to be number one. Not anymore. We want our teams to be the best in the league, and we should demand that of our taxes as well. Taxes matter when government is considering the impact of tax rates on attracting top talent.”
The CTF and ATR’s paper on the taxes of NHL players can be found HERE.
Lead Photo: Taylor Hall #4 of the Edmonton Oilers skates with control of the puck against the San Jose Sharks in the first period of their game at HP Pavilion on January 31, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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For more information:
CTF National Research Director Jeff Bowes
office: 1-800-265-0442, email: [email protected]
CTF Alberta Director Paige MacPherson
cell: 403-478-7184, office: 403-475-6207, email: [email protected]
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