Sixty percent of professional hockey players with no-trade clauses who changed teams selected organizations located in areas with lower taxes, Americans for Tax Reform reported.
According to the report, "Major Penalty for High Taxes: How High Income Taxes Drive NHL Players and Other High-Income Earners to Lower Tax Jurisdictions," when players have a no-trade contract they have the ability to avoid being sent to high tax jurisdictions and choose places with better tax environments.
"Successful hockey players can choose their team in free agency and thus, their hometown for tax purposes," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "So can millions of Americans and Canadians who move from high tax areas to low tax areas. Better than any poll, this tells us what taxpayers want: lower taxes and less government."
"Out of 116 UFAs signing with a new team since July 1, 54% went to cities where they will pay less tax," states the article. "Players moving to lower-tax jurisdictions will save more than $4 million."
"The numbers don’t lie; NHL players take a financial hit to play in certain jurisdictions," said Jeff Bowes who authored the report. "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."