Supreme Court ruling against Cleveland's 'jock tax' to cost city millions

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A court ruling that Cleveland’s so-called “jock tax” violates players’ due process rights could end up costing the city millions in tax refunds.

The Ohio Supreme Court last week upheld a ruling that rejected the city’s appeal over its formula for taxing visiting professional athletes. Former NFL players Hunter Hillenmeyer and Jeff Saturday sued to have Cleveland tax visiting players based on the number of days they work — not the number of games they play.

Visiting National Football League players could receive up to $2.4 million, Ryan Losi, executive vice president of PIASCIK, a Virginia-based sports accounting firm, told cleveland.com (http://bit.ly/1MNUzt4 ). That number doesn’t include refunds claimed by players in other professional sports, such as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.

The city’s tax department has projected the city will lose more than $1 million each year as a result of the change.

The city will begin issuing refunds to players and will recoup those losses from other revenue sources, city spokesman Dan Williams said in an email.