Although Pittsburgh officials had estimated that a 1%
tax on the salaries paid to out-of-state athletes would
generate $1M annually toward the financing of the city's new
PNC Park and convention center, it's generated only $320,000
"after a full year of levies on players from the three major
sports," according to Timothy McNulty of the PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE. City Finance Dir Ellen McLean: "It will grow,
but the numbers are not as high as we wanted." The tax "was
developed by city and county officials to be a small but
meaningful part of the $841 million Plan B stadium and
convention center construction plan." It was estimated to
generate $7M total in financing for the deal. McNulty
writes that "collections are low for a number of reasons,"
as some say the estimate was "always way too high." In
addition, city officials calculate the tax owed according to
"duty days" of a player -- which figures in all the days a
player plays, practices and works out -- rather than a per-
game base salary. Using the "duty day" approach, if an
athlete makes $100,000 a year and plays or practices 250
days per year, with ten games in Pittsburgh, the 1% tax
could be levied on 10/250 of his salary -- $4,000 -- or a
tax of $40. Meanwhile, some teams are "skirting the tax,"
as McLean said that three MLB teams and one NFL team have
not paid the taxes (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/28).
