Steelers Disclose Tax Payments In Response To City Audit

Steelers Officials Estimate Team Has Paid $40M In Taxes Since '00

Steelers officials estimated the team has "paid $40[M] in city, school and county taxes" since '00 after an audit by Pittsburgh Acting Controller Anthony Pokora "suggested ... Pittsburgh's three professional sports teams avoid paying $20.8[M] a year in property taxes" to the entities, according to Boren & Roebuck of the Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Steelers Dir of Business Mark Hart said, "We are confident that our analysis indicates that the Steelers have one of the highest combined state and local tax burdens in the nation." Hart added that the $40M figure "does not include federal or state income taxes." NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello said the team's analysis "is without question accurate, and they are a very highly taxed sports team." Boren & Roebuck report the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins "don't pay property taxes because the stadiums are owned" by the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which is tax-exempt.  Pokora wants the three teams "to make volunteer cash contributions to financially strapped Pittsburgh to make up" for not paying the taxes. Pokora: "They really don't pay those taxes either. Either the ticket buyer pays them, or the guy who parks his car at the game pays them." The Penguins and Pirates declined comment and did not release data (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 10/25).