Massachusetts' Wealth Tax Encouraged NBA's Grant Williams To Sign With Dallas

[Kamaji]

Massachusetts' Wealth Tax Encouraged NBA's Grant Williams To Sign With Dallas

Grant Williams breaks down the math: "$54 million in Dallas is really like $58 million in Boston."

ERIC BOEHM
7.11.2023

By approving a new wealth tax last year, Massachusetts voters might have dented the Boston Celtics' chances of chasing down a National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.

Grant Williams, a talented power forward drafted by the Celtics in the first round just four years ago, declined to re-sign with Boston this summer. Instead, he'll be playing next season in Dallas, where his new contract won't be subject to Massachusetts' so-called "millionaire's tax."

Williams told The Athletic that his decision to sign a $54 million deal with Dallas over a $48 million offer from Boston was "a little strategic" and that the gap between the two offers was larger than it might seem.

"In Boston, it's…$48 million with the millionaire's tax, so $54 million in Dallas is really like $58 million in Boston," Williams said.

In Texas, which has no state income tax, Williams can keep more of his earnings, though it is worth noting that professional athletes unfortunately owe taxes in states where they play road games. His new state's tax situation gives Williams a nice incentive to move, considering Massachusetts would have taken 9 percent of those earnings—thanks to its 5 percent flat income tax and newly created 4 percent tax on income in excess of $1 million.

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Source:  https://reason.com/2023/07/11/massachusetts-wealth-tax-encouraged-nbas-grant-williams-to-sign-with-dallas/

[DefiantMassRINO]

... and so the giant sucking sound of wealth leaving Massachusetts begins

[berdie]

Wait a minute...pro athletes owe taxes in the states where they play road games?

That makes no sense.

[cato potatoe]

For a one-party state, Massachusetts was kind of-sort of reasonable with their laws until recently.  It's a beautiful place, but I lived that corner of the world, I would definitely be a New Hampshire resident. 

[Kamaji]

Wait a minute...pro athletes owe taxes in the states where they play road games?

That makes no sense.

Why?  They are performing services in each state where they play, and services income is normally sourced to the place where the services are performed.

[berdie]

Why?  They are performing services in each state where they play, and services income is normally sourced to the place where the services are performed.

I don't doubt what you say. It just makes no sense (and no, I'm not going to spend any time checking). The franchises that pay these players are located where they are located. And pay taxes to that state. Perhaps it has to do with what you are calling "services income"? I can't say that it's what I am going to look up...but I have worked out of state in my career and didn't pay taxes to another state.

[Kamaji]

I don't doubt what you say. It just makes no sense (and no, I'm not going to spend any time checking). The franchises that pay these players are located where they are located. And pay taxes to that state. Perhaps it has to do with what you are calling "services income"? I can't say that it's what I am going to look up...but I have worked out of state in my career and didn't pay taxes to another state.

Well, technically, you most likely didn't pay taxes to other states because you didn't fully comply with all of your state tax obligations, but were either too difficult for the state tax authorities to identify, or else did not spend enough time working in any one particular state to make it worth the while for the state tax department to chase you down and assess you for tax.

I'm not saying that to be nasty, btw; plenty of people do not know all of the ins and outs of the tax laws that apply to them every day.  For example, did you know that in almost every state, if you buy something from out of state and bring it into your state of residence for use there, you are required to self-report and pay use tax on the fair market value of that property.  Other than with respect to large items, like cars, for which the tax is generally assessed and paid when the vehicle is registered, most people aren't aware of this fact and rarely self-report.

But that doesn't change the basic fact that income from the performance of services is sourced to the place where the services are performed, and both the team that plays the game, as well as each individual player who plays in the game, is typically subject to state income tax in the state where they play.

It gets even more fun for people who are partners in partnerships that have activities in multiple states, for example, a national law firm.  A partner in, for example, Shearman and Sterling, for example, will often have income derived from 10 or 15 states, and will have to either be reflected on a nonresident partner return filed by the partnership, or else separately file his/her own personal income tax return in each of those states.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Since Dukakis was run out of town in 1990, the limousine liberal Dem largesse has been confined to the Congressional delegation.

Little by little, the disease has been seeping into the Mass State House.

The State's House Speaker and Senate President are usually JFK Kennedy (1960s pre-McGovern) Dem types, not the Fauxcahontas street-corner screaming looney type.

As those old enough to remember those dark days of Mike Dukakis die or move South, those traumatic memories leave with them.  Newbies are mostly dual-income, advanced degree couples too young to remember the horrors of Jimmy Carter and Mike Dukakis.  The younger generation may repeat the mistakes of the McGovern Dems.

Mass Dems usually follow Cali Dems' lead.  California is still the early adopter of cutting edge hypocritical bleeding heart limousine liberal NIMBY Big Government moonbat nonsense.

[berdie]

I was aware of the sales tax laws. The rest is interesting...