Not to get all political here…again…but picking a winner for the NFC Championship Game based on the tax burden of each team’s home state is a little goofy. But NBC Chicago’s Edward McClelland
Quarterback Jay Cutler will earn $7.6 million in 2011 (still not enough to put him in a good mood). He’ll keep a lot more of that money as a Bear than he would as a Packer. After deducting $2,000 for the personal exemption as a single man, Cutler has a taxable income of $7,598,000. At a 5 percent tax rate, he’ll owe $379,900.
Now, imagine Cutler were traded to Green Bay. He’d have $7,599,300 in taxable income (because Wisconsin has a lower exemption), and, at Wisconsin’s top rate of 7.75 percent, he’d owe $588,945.75 — a difference of over 200 grand. I don’t know what Cutler does for fun — or whether Cutler ever has fun — but $200,000 can pay for a lot of it.[..]
High taxes may provide a high standard of living, but they don’t bring out the best on the gridiron. Look at Texas. They don’t even have a state income tax, and the Cowboys have won five Super Bowls.
Athletes get hosed on taxes, especially football players. An NFL player usually has to pay taxes his home state, plus in whatever state he happens to be playing. So maybe tax burden isn’t such a bad way to measure football prowess after all. Whatever. It’s still better than anything the Keynesians would have configured.
