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Should Members of congress pay "jock tax" to DC?

RJKarl

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When a pro athlete is on the road, he has to pay state tax in each state he plays. When Panthers play the Jets, every player pays NJ tax on the game check for that week. When entertainers work in different cities they do the same.

The DC City Counsel is considering putting in a "jock tax" for Members of Congress for the days they are in DC.

They do earn the money there. What's the differnce between them and anyone else?
 
somebody was watching CNN 10 mins ago

and yeah I agree with the tax but I could see it being struck down by the courts for various jurisdictional reasons
 
Actually the jock tax has existed for decades and has not been struck down anywhere.
 
I don't have access to CNN at work. Is this in response to Mayor Gray being upset about the budget restrictions and his way of getting back?
 
That's interesting. I didn't know that athletes and entertainers had to subject themselves to such nonsense. Seems like they, along with Congress, should simply pay taxes where they reside, which is usually in Northern Virginia. You have a lot of federal employees that work in DC but live in NoVA or Maryland...some even in WV. Why should they pay DC tax? That's bullshit. Just another tax grab by a city that can't pay its bills.
 
Just a shot across the bow of Congress by the district that wants their proper representation.
 
That's interesting. I didn't know that athletes and entertainers had to subject themselves to such nonsense. Seems like they, along with Congress, should simply pay taxes where they reside, which is usually in Northern Virginia. You have a lot of federal employees that work in DC but live in NoVA or Maryland...some even in WV. Why should they pay DC tax? That's bullshit. Just another tax grab by a city that can't pay its bills.

But every major league city in the country does this. Why shouldn't they be allowed to to what Dallas does?
 
RJ, while I think it's bullshit that it's done to athletes and entertainers, I can understand the rationale behind it...well, at least with entertainers who are paid by the various venues where they perform. Subjecting a Philadelphia Eagle to NY state tax because he played a game in the Meadowlands still seems like a stretch to me.

The reason you can't do it to politicians is the same reason why you can't do it to the rest of the federal employees working there. They work there. If they don't live there, they shouldn't pay DC taxes. Plain and simple. If somebody lives in Turnersville, NJ and commutes to Philly, should they have to pay PA state taxes in addition to their NJ state taxes? It's complete and utter bullshit, a ridiculous tax grab, and a good way for a politician to meet the business end of a firearm.

Dallas, FWIW, is in Texas and Texas has no state income tax.
 
ELC, I didn't say the rest of federal employees. Congress is only in session for about 35% of the year.
 
And federal employees are in session for 100% of the year. The same principle applies in any case, RJ. You can't just selectively tax the congressmen because they're high profile and the idea sells well. You'd bring more money to the tax coffers by taxing the federal employees anyway.
 
The reason for the "jock tax" is specifically for those who aren't working FT in the city. Those who are are already accounted for in the laws.
 
RJ, while I think it's bullshit that it's done to athletes and entertainers, I can understand the rationale behind it...well, at least with entertainers who are paid by the various venues where they perform. Subjecting a Philadelphia Eagle to NY state tax because he played a game in the Meadowlands still seems like a stretch to me.

The reason you can't do it to politicians is the same reason why you can't do it to the rest of the federal employees working there. They work there. If they don't live there, they shouldn't pay DC taxes. Plain and simple. If somebody lives in Turnersville, NJ and commutes to Philly, should they have to pay PA state taxes in addition to their NJ state taxes? It's complete and utter bullshit, a ridiculous tax grab, and a good way for a politician to meet the business end of a firearm.

Dallas, FWIW, is in Texas and Texas has no state income tax.

Yes, and generally they do. But NJ gives them a credit for the PA taxes paid. State taxation is generally about 2 things - 1) residency and 2) source of income. Residents are generally taxed by their home state (assuming the state has an income tax) on all of their income, whatever the source. Non-residents are generally taxed only on income that is generated in the state in question (some states do not tax non-residents at all, but it is constitutionally permissible for them to do, so long as the income has a sufficient nexus to the state). To prevent double taxation, most, if not all, states allow for a credit for taxes paid to other states (kind of like the US foreign tax credit).
 
This isn't just a "jock" or entertainment tax. This tax law exists in most states regardless of your job. If you claim residency in one state but work (earn income) in another state, you are required to file taxes in both states for the income you earned there. I work for a large contracting company and they recently cracked down on this. Some new laws have recently been passed cracking down on this also, leading to my company requiring all employees to list not only their residency but also the physical address where they're working. The problem was that many were listing the branch office for the company they were based out of of even though the client where they were actually working was elsewhere.
 
That's interesting. I didn't know state income tax was broken down that way. What a load of crap, but at least you get the deduction so you aren't double taxed.

In the case of DC, I suspect it's completely different since it involves federal jurisdiction and payment issues.
 
From what I understand, DC's charter prohibits it from collecting income tax from non-residents. The proposal would carve out professional athletes from that prohibition.
 
Wakelaw 2006 is correct. Read the 1973 DC Home Rule Act.

This is expressly prohibited. A federal court has also already ruled that comuter taxes also cannot be applied without express Constitutional approval.
 
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That's interesting. I didn't know state income tax was broken down that way. What a load of crap, but at least you get the deduction so you aren't double taxed.

In the case of DC, I suspect it's completely different since it involves federal jurisdiction and payment issues.

It's not a deduction it's a dollar for dollar credit. It's the idea of the source of the income. This year I got severance from the firm I was supposed to work for in NYC. I paid NY tax on it despite not living in NY at all or even working there.

The same thing happens on an international level for athletes that play in other countries. NHL players pay Canadian tax on any game checks from games played in Canada. There was a lawsuit where hockey players were trying to argue that their salaries shouldn't be broken on a game by game basis because that salary also represented compulsory camps and practices.
 
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