美国各州向异地运动员征税

Finance and economics

财经版块

Job taxes

职业税

Ballpark figures

棒球场数据（注：figure双关，可以指“数据”或“人物”。）

States fight for the right to squeeze athletes (and remote workers).

美国各州都在争取压榨运动员(和远程工作者)的权利。

Sports are big business in America.

在美国，体育是一门大生意。

The country’s four largest professional leagues generate about $45bn in revenues a year, more than half of the total produced by leagues worldwide.

美国的四大职业联赛每年收入约为450亿美元，占全球职业联赛总收入的一半以上。

That makes for plenty of richly paid stars—and income-generating opportunities for governments.

这创造了大量高薪体育明星，也为政府带来了创收机会。

Enter the “jock tax”, an attempt by states and cities to stake a claim to the earnings of visiting athletes.

于是就有了“运动员税”，即各州和城市试图从来访运动员的收入中分一杯羹。

Jock taxes gained attention in 1991 when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals of the National Basketball Association—and California taxed them for their efforts.

运动员税在1991年得到人们的关注，当时迈克尔·乔丹的芝加哥公牛队在NBA总决赛中击败洛杉矶湖人队，然后加利福尼亚州向公牛队征税。（注：芝加哥位于伊利诺伊州，洛杉矶位于加州。）

Illinois followed up with “Michael Jordan’s revenge” tax.

伊利诺伊州随后也推出了“迈克尔·乔丹复仇税”。

Other states soon got in on the act, too.

其他州很快也加入了这一行动。

The public was pleased: not only were states taxing the rich, they were hitting the despised rivals of much-loved home teams.

公众很高兴：各州不仅向富人征税，而且还打击了他们喜爱的本州球队的死对头。

But a recent ruling in Pennsylvania may mark the end of the most egregious jock taxes.

但宾夕法尼亚州最近的一项裁决可能标志着这一最恶劣的运动员税的终结。

The city of Pittsburgh had charged non-resident athletes a 3% fee for using its baseball, football and ice-hockey facilities.

匹兹堡市向非当地居民运动员收取了3%的棒球、足球和冰球设施使用费。

Resident athletes, by contrast, pay only a 1% income tax to the city.

相比之下，当地居民运动员只需向该市缴纳1%的所得税。

On January 10th a court struck down the levy, finding that it violated the state’s constitution, which calls for uniform taxes.

1月10日，法院推翻了这项税收，认为它违反了该州统一征税的宪法。

Similar taxes have been revoked in Ohio and Tennessee, among others.

俄亥俄州和田纳西州等地也取消了类似的税收。

Stephen Kidder of Hemenway & Barnes, a law firm, has represented players in such cases and says Pittsburgh was the last true outlier in slapping discriminatory taxes on athletes.

海门威和巴恩斯律师事务所的斯蒂芬·基德曾在这类案件中为运动员代理诉讼，并表示匹兹堡是最后一个不受管束、还对运动员征收歧视性税收的城市。

The ruling does not, however, mean the end of jock taxes more generally.

然而，这项裁决并不意味着更大范围内的运动员税就此终结。

State income taxes apply to any income earned in-state, including by non-residents.

州所得税适用于在州内赚取的任何收入，包括非居民在州内赚取的收入。

In practice, authorities rarely keep tabs on people when they move around for a few days of work here and there.

实际上，当人们去其他地方工作几天时，政府部门很少对他们进行监视。

Not so for athletes, whose schedules are publicised.

但运动员的情况不一样，他们的日程安排都是公开的。

California, for instance, is estimated to bring in more than $200m a year from taxes on non-resident athletes.

例如，据估计，加利福尼亚州每年从非居民运动员身上获得的税收超过2亿美元。

“Athletes definitely get singled out in a way that is unfair,” says Mr Kidder.

基德表示：“运动员肯定会以不公平的方式被单独挑出来。”

Taxation based on location of work rather than residence does not constitute an extra levy, but a more complex filing process.

根据工作地点而不是居住地征税并不构成一种额外征税，但申报过程会更复杂。

So long as athletes come from a state with an income tax, they would have had to pay these taxes anyway—the question is to which government.

只要运动员来自征收所得税的州，他们就都必须缴纳所得税，问题是向哪个州的政府缴纳。

Professional baseball players may need to file two dozen separate tax returns.

职业棒球运动员可能需要提交24份不同的纳税申报表。

In an era of remote work, the plight of athletes is becoming more familiar.

在远程工作的时代，其他人也开始熟悉了运动员的这种麻烦。

Workers who straddle locations should file multiple tax returns, even if many do not.

跨地区工作的人应该提交多份纳税申报表，虽然许多人没有这样做。

“The burden for athletes is a magnified version of what many taxpayers face now,” says Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation, a think-tank.

税收基金会（智库机构）的贾里德·沃尔扎克说：“运动员的报税负担是许多纳税人现在面临的负担的放大版。”

To simplify things, some states have introduced tax-filing thresholds.

为了简化程序，一些州引入了纳税申报门槛。

For instance, Montana exempts non-residents if they work there for less than 30 days.

例如，蒙大拿州规定，如果非居民在蒙大拿州工作不到30天，那么可免除所得税。

But it still charges athletes and entertainers for a single day of work within its borders.

但对于运动员和演艺人员，哪怕在该州工作一天，蒙大拿州也会向其征税。

As Mr Walczak notes: “It doesn’t seem likely that pro athletes will get a break anytime soon.”

正如沃尔扎克所指出的：“职业运动员近期得到税收免除似乎是不太可能的。”