The Boston Bruins’ championship drought drought can partly be blamed on Massachusetts’ tax policies, according to a business advocacy group.
The Bruins, who last hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2011, are losing out on top talent who prefer to play in states with lower taxes so they walk away with more in income, according to the Mass Opportunity Alliance.
The group noted that four of the last five Stanley Cup winners and seven of the last 10 to make it to the final round hail from states with no state income tax.
The Florida Panthers won the Cup last season, dethroning Las Vegas Golden Knights.
In 2020, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. The club would go on to repeat the next year.
Florida and Nevada do not have a state income tax. Neither does Texas, which helped the Dallas Stars amass enough talent to appear in the Cup final in 2020, the group noted.
Playing in Boston comes at a significant greater cost to the players, compared to those no-income-tax states.
Brad Marchand, the Bruins’ veteran forward, earned $5 million before taxes in the 2023-24 season. But after being levied a state income tax in Massachusetts, his take-home pay was just $2.934 million.
Had Marchand played for a team in either Nevada, Washington State, Florida or Texas, he would have walked home with $3.3 million, or around $400,000 more, according to MOA.
David Pastrnak, the Bruins’ star scorer, is also making a financial sacrifice by staying in Boston.
Pastrnak earned an annual salary of $13 million last season. If he were a member of the Dallas Stars, the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, his net income would be $7.97 million.
Instead, Massachusetts charges Pastrnak an income tax that leaves him with $6.884 million.
Pastrnak would have also saved some money in taxes if he had played for the Carolina Hurricanes. His take-home pay would have been $7.38 million.
While North Carolina has an income tax, it has no income surtax — which is an extra tax that is often imposed on higher earners.
The Nashville Predators, an expansion team which joined the National Hockey League in 1998, reached the final round in 2017. The team’s home state, Tennessee, does not levy an income tax.
Players looking to maximize their earnings potential have taken notice.
In the most recent free agency period preceding this season, six teams that play in states with no income tax — Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Vegas and Seattle — combined to spend nearly a quarter of the more than $1 billion in aggregate contracts that were signed this past summer.
The Panthers managed to lock up one of their stars, scoring forward Sam Reinhart, who resigned with the club for $69 million over 8 years — which averages out to $8.625 million per year.
Of the $8.625 million annual wage, Reinhart owes an estimated $3.15 million by living in Florida.
Had he chosen to play for a team in California under the same salary, he would have had to pay $1.1 million more.
If Reinhart were to sign with the Rangers or Islanders, his tax bill would go up by $1.5 million — meaning that he would have to fork over more than half of his income to the government, according to a special tax calculator created by Cardinal Point Athlete Advisors.
Alan Pogroszewski, the founder, president and CEO of AFP Consulting LLC, which specializes in the tax preparation and consulting for pro athletes, told AP that the Rangers or Islanders would need to offer a contract exceeding $88 million to net the same amount as Reinhart’s $69 million contract with the Panthers.
Massachusetts recently approved a “millionaire’s tax” or “Fair Share Amendment” which levies a 4% surtax on income over $1 million a year.
Bill Belichick, the former New England Patriots head coach, recently told “The Pat McAfee Show” that the surtax has deterred professional NFL players from signing with the team and playing in what is called “Taxachusetts.”
Despite the relatively high taxes in deep-blue Massachusetts, Boston sports teams have fared quite well in recent years.
Since the turn of the century, The Hub has seen its professional clubs captured 13 title — including six by Belichick’s Patriots, four by the previously cursed Red Sox, two by the NBA’s Celtics and one by the Bruins.
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