Negotiators for MLB's owners made a new offer to the MLBPA,
which they say "moves closer to the union's side," according to
ESPN's Gary Miller. According to AP, owners will abandon
attempts to implement a luxury tax until at least '97 and "would
go along with" a union proposal of an overall 2.5% payroll tax
with money going to a fund used for revenue sharing and industry
growth ("SportsCenter," 2/21). The WASHINGTON POST reports the
players "would have the option" of a sliding-scale luxury tax --
a 25% tax on player payroll above a $44M threshold -- in the
second year of a seven-year deal. Or they could delay the luxury
tax until Year Three and have the flat tax set at 5% over a two-
year span instead of the players' proposal of 2.5% over three
years (Mark Maske, WASHINGTON POST, 2/22). Under the owners'
plan, Years 4-7 would feature the original sliding-scale luxury
tax based on industry revenue (Hal Bodley, USA TODAY, 2/22). In
New York, Murray Chass notes, "The major difference continues to
be a disagreement over whether to put a significant drag on
salaries" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/22).
TIME FOR A DEAL? Some in management "seemed to believe that
the parties are within striking distance of a deal, but the
union's leaders appeared to be taking a more cautious approach"
(Mark Maske, WASHINGTON POST, 2/22).
