Stripe pays taxes that they collect. So does the NFL. Stripe pays taxes on its earnings. So does the NFL. Stripe does not pay taxes on the billed amount. Neither does the NFL.
If a Stripe merchant pays taxes on a $5,000 television, does that count as $5,000 worth of taxable income for Stripe? No, it does not. Stripe collects their service charge, which works out to be $145.30. That is Stripe's taxable income.
You're acting like the NFL is somehow responsible for paying taxes on the billions of dollars that it collects revenues on. It isn't, nor is Stripe. If it weren't tax exempt, it would only be responsible for the fees it keeps, which is equivalent to the Stripe service fees. The NFL member teams are responsible for paying the taxes on the billions, which they already do, and don't appear to be evading, or even attempting to evade at all.
As for whether or not the portion of money that the NFL league 'keeps' (they don't actually keep any, they act as a clearing house for the teams, and pay out 100% of earnings minus overhead, which they make 0 profits from), the IRS seems to have created a class of business that matches exactly the "entertainment sports league" definition, and they have made that category tax exempt.
So long as the 501c6 exists under the definition that it does, the NFL clearly qualifies to be one.
So, recapping from my earlier reply, the issue isn't one of whether or not the NFL is tax dodging. They aren't. Not even remotely. The issue is whether or not there should be such a thing as the 501C6. I, personally, am of the opinion that it needn't exist at all. But it does, and it's tax exempt, and that's not the NFL's fault.
To reduce it to absurdity: If the IRS created a category of person that is caucasian, wears Threadless T-Shirts, wears New Balance shoes, and that enjoys drinking Victory Golden Monkey Ale, then I clearly belong to that category.
If the IRS makes that category of person tax exempt, then I guess I can stop paying taxes.
The argument that most people seem to make is that I don't deserve to belong to this tax exempt category, which is wrong. I meet all the criteria. I wear Threadless shirts. I am caucasian. I really love Victory Golden Monkey Ale. Saying I don't belong in this category is the wrong argument.
The right argument is either:
- this special category should not exist, or
- this special category should not be tax exempt
FWIW, I'm not trying to defend the NFL. But, if you're going to condemn them, i means understanding what you're condemning. If they NFL collected 12 billion dollars last year, then they paid taxes on $12 billion dollars. The teams then each put aside a certain amount of money, collectively totaling around $200 million, to fund the NFL league. The money's already been taxed once, but the $200 million that the league "earned" through these payments is not, because it's allocated to a trade organization, which the IRS considers tax exempt.
Stripe pays taxes that they collect. So does the NFL. Stripe pays taxes on its earnings. So does the NFL. Stripe does not pay taxes on the billed amount. Neither does the NFL.
If a Stripe merchant pays taxes on a $5,000 television, does that count as $5,000 worth of taxable income for Stripe? No, it does not. Stripe collects their service charge, which works out to be $145.30. That is Stripe's taxable income.
You're acting like the NFL is somehow responsible for paying taxes on the billions of dollars that it collects revenues on. It isn't, nor is Stripe. If it weren't tax exempt, it would only be responsible for the fees it keeps, which is equivalent to the Stripe service fees. The NFL member teams are responsible for paying the taxes on the billions, which they already do, and don't appear to be evading, or even attempting to evade at all.
As for whether or not the portion of money that the NFL league 'keeps' (they don't actually keep any, they act as a clearing house for the teams, and pay out 100% of earnings minus overhead, which they make 0 profits from), the IRS seems to have created a class of business that matches exactly the "entertainment sports league" definition, and they have made that category tax exempt.
So long as the 501c6 exists under the definition that it does, the NFL clearly qualifies to be one.
So, recapping from my earlier reply, the issue isn't one of whether or not the NFL is tax dodging. They aren't. Not even remotely. The issue is whether or not there should be such a thing as the 501C6. I, personally, am of the opinion that it needn't exist at all. But it does, and it's tax exempt, and that's not the NFL's fault.
To reduce it to absurdity: If the IRS created a category of person that is caucasian, wears Threadless T-Shirts, wears New Balance shoes, and that enjoys drinking Victory Golden Monkey Ale, then I clearly belong to that category.
If the IRS makes that category of person tax exempt, then I guess I can stop paying taxes.
The argument that most people seem to make is that I don't deserve to belong to this tax exempt category, which is wrong. I meet all the criteria. I wear Threadless shirts. I am caucasian. I really love Victory Golden Monkey Ale. Saying I don't belong in this category is the wrong argument.
The right argument is either:
- this special category should not exist, or
- this special category should not be tax exempt
FWIW, I'm not trying to defend the NFL. But, if you're going to condemn them, i means understanding what you're condemning. If they NFL collected 12 billion dollars last year, then they paid taxes on $12 billion dollars. The teams then each put aside a certain amount of money, collectively totaling around $200 million, to fund the NFL league. The money's already been taxed once, but the $200 million that the league "earned" through these payments is not, because it's allocated to a trade organization, which the IRS considers tax exempt.