The Oakland A’s have another disadvantage when pursuing free agents on the open market The plight of Billy Bean and the small market Oakland Athletics was highlighted in Michael Lewis’ 2004 book Money Ball. The stakes are different today and Bean’s biggest challenge comes from the state of CA rather than the large market teams in the League. California’s income tax structure has created a burden for its home teams: the state’s maximum income tax rate for 2013 is 12.3% with an

Earlier this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated, “Under current law, on January 1, 2013, there’s going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases.” The tax increases include cancelling the Bush era tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 which would increase the individual tax rate for those in the highest tax bracket from 35% to 39.5% and eliminate the payroll tax holiday, which would increase the payroll tax withholding from 4.2% to 6.2%. What d

Alex Rodriguez made headlines this past post season because of his ill-timed slump. However, the irony is: this slump may actually improve his financial situation by more than three million dollars. Over the last three post seasons, Rodriguez hit only 10 singles and two doubles in his 75 official at bats for a .160 batting average. To make matters worse, this past post season he totaled just three singles and 12 strikeouts in 25 at bats. This slump and consequential benching

The Cautionary tale of Darryl Strawberry’s Battle with the IRS Darryl Strawberry’s tax and financial troubles tell a cautionary tale about how professional athletes can become prime targets for the IRS. Strawberry, whose career ran from 1983 to 1999, is still battling the IRS, according to a Notice of Levy reportedly sent to HarperCollins Publishing for $405,522 in back taxes, penalties and interest. These tax issues came to light when Tracy Strawberry, Darryl’s third wife,

Angles Pay $23,368,000 More Because of State Income Tax Rate The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles captured the most sought after free agent this offseason when they signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 million contract. With a maximum state income tax rate of 9.55% and an additional 1% on income in excess of $1,000,000, CA’s income tax rate is the third highest in the nation, behind only Hawaii and Oregon at 11%. The Angels outbid two teams located in states with significantl