- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Do you think there should be tax breaks for buying collegiate athletic tickets?
Posted on 2/3/15 at 3:12 pm
Posted on 2/3/15 at 3:12 pm
BR lawyer says Obama’s proposal to end college sporting ticket tax deduction would hinder universities’ fundraising efforts
DAILY REPORT STAFF
FEBRUARY 3, 2015
A Baton Rouge lawyer who successfully lobbied Congress in 1986 to create a tax deduction for people who donate money to colleges and universities for seats at sporting events—which President Barack Obama wants to eliminate under his new budget proposal—tells Bloomberg eliminating the deduction would hinder colleges and universities such as LSU in fundraising efforts.
“It’s one of the best things to come down the pike,” Theodore L. Jones, 80, says of the tax deduction.
“I wouldn’t want to take on all the college presidents and college sports programs around the country, but I’m not the president,” says Jones, who holds season tickets at Tiger Stadium and personally benefits from the tax deduction, of the president’s budget plan.
Currently, college sports fans can deduct as much as 80% of the cost of such donations in exchange for tickets. Obama’s budget proposal sent to Congress on Monday would end the deductions.
By closing what the White House calls a loophole in the system, people would pay about $2.5 billion over the next decade in higher taxes. The budget plan also would end the use of tax-exempt bonds to build professional sports facilities. Debt to finance stadiums and arenas would be taxable if more than 10% of the location is used for private-business use.
Repealing such financing would save $542 million from 2016 through 2025, according to the proposal.
Some U.S. colleges use the tax benefit to generate more revenue from sports. They set a price for season tickets and then demand donations in the hundreds or thousands of dollars on top of that cost as a condition of the sale. Part of the pitch is that fans can claim the expense as a charitable deduction when they itemize their tax returns.
5
Posted on 2/3/15 at 3:16 pm to RedRifle
quote:
Do you think there should be tax breaks for buying collegiate athletic tickets
NO. Hell No. Absolutely not.
Big money sports are recreational decisions that individuals or groups should decide whether or not they value enough to buy. I see no justification for businesses that profitable (and often also siphoning significant public funds for stadiums, facilities, etc to boot) to be additionally funded at taxpayer expense.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 3:17 pm to RedRifle
ole Ted Jones
ETA: I'm interested to hear the opinions of people more learned than me on the topic.
ETA: I'm interested to hear the opinions of people more learned than me on the topic.
This post was edited on 2/3/15 at 3:21 pm
Posted on 2/3/15 at 3:26 pm to boom roasted
With the reduction in funding for higher education across the country this would be another decently big blow especially if P5 teams are going to start giving players more benefits.
I doubt people will stop giving all together, but some people on the bubble will keep the money and just buy them 3rd party rather than reaping the tax benefits and getting seats direct.
I doubt people will stop giving all together, but some people on the bubble will keep the money and just buy them 3rd party rather than reaping the tax benefits and getting seats direct.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 5:35 pm to molsusports
quote:
Do you think there should be tax breaks for buying collegiate athletic tickets
nnnnope
Posted on 2/3/15 at 5:37 pm to gizmoflak
It's not for the ticket itself. It's a donation to the school/athletic department for the right to BUY the ticket.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 5:44 pm to RedRifle
even though I currently benefit from it, the answer is no.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 5:46 pm to Dr RC
Your money is going to a non-profit higher educational facility.
Do you think that other donations shouldn't garner you a tax break?
Do you think that other donations shouldn't garner you a tax break?
Posted on 2/3/15 at 6:08 pm to KosmoCramer
when its for sports, the answer is no
sorry but thats how I feel
and
at universities pretending they are still non profit
sorry but thats how I feel
and
at universities pretending they are still non profitThis post was edited on 2/3/15 at 6:09 pm
Posted on 2/3/15 at 6:10 pm to Dr RC
I'm just playing devil's advocate. I don't necessarily disagree with you.
But the small amount of money that changing the tax structure would reduce as far as income to the university is going to have to come from somewhere else to make up for it.
There will be unintended consequences from this change. It probably would be minor though.
But the small amount of money that changing the tax structure would reduce as far as income to the university is going to have to come from somewhere else to make up for it.
There will be unintended consequences from this change. It probably would be minor though.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 6:41 pm to KosmoCramer
quote:
It's not for the ticket itself. It's a donation to the school/athletic department for the right to BUY the ticket.
terrible argument. it's mandatory payment for a ticket, not a voluntary donation
Posted on 2/3/15 at 7:06 pm to RedRifle
Agreed. But Obama doesn't go far enough. Let's eliminate the charitable contribution deduction altogether. If you like a particular cause, give to it, but don't ask the rest of the country's taxpayers (all 50% of us) to subsidize your giving.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 8:21 pm to nycajun
quote:
Agreed. But Obama doesn't go far enough. Let's eliminate the charitable contribution deduction altogether. If you like a particular cause, give to it, but don't ask the rest of the country's taxpayers (all 50% of us) to subsidize your giving.
Eh. I'd be interested to see how many are actually itemizing.
College football tickets were 40% of my charitable deductions this year.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 10:09 pm to Golfer
If they eliminated the break would you still buy LSU tickets?
Posted on 2/3/15 at 10:17 pm to RedRifle
Anything that takes money from fedgov is fine with me.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 11:18 pm to udtiger
quote:
Anything that takes money from fedgov is fine with me.
Something tells me "fedgov" gets that money right back from somewhere else.
Posted on 2/3/15 at 11:47 pm to Golfer
quote:
Eh. I'd be interested to see how many are actually itemizing.
Good question. When I've been on the fundraising end, I've had low level donors who quizzed me on the tax stuff, and bigger donors who didn't even mention it.
My guess is that Obama's proposal wouldn't have a big impact on the decisions of loyal fans and alums to support their program, but could have a major affect on donation levels.
Some factors to consider:
- Many larger donors (people in the suites) give through family charitable trusts or business funds, which have restrictions on use. Changing the tax status could have a major impact on large donations, especially during capital campaigns.
- Corporate matching programs are an important part of annual donations. Some employees will match approved employee charitable contributions by as much as 2:1. If collegiate athletic foundations fall off the approved list, that will significantly slash the donation amounts for a good portion of non-retired alums.
University administrators and fundraisers have plenty of good reasons to be nervous about this.
This post was edited on 2/3/15 at 11:49 pm
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News