REPORT: Stop the AFL's Tax Free Corporate Status

[Catoggio76]

Thoughts?

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...slam-afl-s-tax-free-rort-20180304-p4z2rx.html

'Open to abuse': Experts slam AFL's tax-free 'rort'
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The AFL and NRL are earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and not paying a cent in tax while calling on taxpayers to stump up billions to build new stadiums.

Concessions have led to operating surpluses increasing: in the AFL by 63 per cent to $330 million over the decade to 2016; in the NRL they have doubled to reach $133 million over the same period.

Experts have labelled the tax-free concessions of the country’s two richest leagues and their clubs “a rort that is open to abuse” and have called on them to follow the National Football League in the US and give up their tax-free status.

Chief economist at the Australia Institute Richard Denniss said it was time for both the NRL and AFL to cough up and help pay for infrastructure.

 

[Tasmaniac]

Depending on how much tax they would be expected to pay, it might have a major impact on the AFL's ability to pay for everything they do now.

Would be interesting to see all players, staff and AFL staff take an across the board pay cut to absorb the shortfall.

Or clubs folded,

Or grassroots funding reduced,

Or ?

 

[RUNVS]

I completely agree. Sport and religion have enjoyed tax loopholes that they should not enjoy as the AFL and the Church are businesses like every other business and should be taxed in the same way.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

Depending on how much tax they would be expected to pay, it might have a major impact on the AFL's ability to pay for everything they do now.

Would be interesting to see all players, staff and AFL staff take an across the board pay cut to absorb the shortfall.

Or clubs folded,

Or grassroots funding reduced,

Or ?

They will just put their prices up, pay the tax and still make the profits. Aussie Rules supporters complain about pricing for everything yet every week still turn up in large numbers almost as if they are hypnotised.

 

[Catoggio76]

I completely agree. Sport and religion have enjoyed tax loopholes that they should not enjoy as the AFL and the Church are businesses like every other business and should be taxed in the same way.

The Catholic Church Property Development Corporation (yes that is their name) has an interesting property portfolio around East Melbourne....

 

[greatwhiteshark]

The AFL now own Etihad stadium, surely it is their sole responsibility to do all upgrades, repairs and maintenance etc. the government should never help fund Etihad.

 

[CrowsFlag2018]

Tax the * out of them. If they pass it onto the public instead of copping lower profits then it just creates more momentum for a breakaway league.

Oh wait no pollies get royal treatment from AFL so wont happen. Corruption everywhere.

 

[Farm Boy]

Tax the **** out of them. If they pass it onto the public instead of copping lower profits then it just creates more momentum for a breakaway league.

Oh wait no pollies get royal treatment from AFL so wont happen. Corruption everywhere.

Good to see another praying for the AFL's downfall. I am 100% on board.

 

[Sedat!]

Depending on how much tax they would be expected to pay, it might have a major impact on the AFL's ability to pay for everything they do now.

The AFL 'office of the executive' (senior management of about a dozen pigs in the trough) chew up well over $10m a year in salaries for doing very little (except root junior staff) - in fact they are absolving their basic responsibility to run the game by handballing this over to a 'super committee'. That's not even talking about middle and lower management at AFL House, which is significantly over-staffed.

City Hall is more bloated than any organisation in this country and could easily be reduced by 75% and still function efficiently, probably more so. The lack of accountability within that organisation is laughable.

 

[sprockets]

I couldn't agree more. The people at the pointy end, and it's not all that pointy, make huge money.

As for the 'government' not kicking in money for upgrades to the stadiums, etc, they do that sort of thing with most businesses that make them a lot of money. A business (in this case the AFL) makes plenty for the govt and helps keep the economy ticking over, so the government gives them back a portion of it every now and then. Upgrading stadiums also keeps people employed, the money doesn't just vanish into thin air. I agree though that whichever way it happens consumers end up footing the bill.

 

[Tasmaniac]

They will just put their prices up, pay the tax and still make the profits. Aussie Rules supporters complain about pricing for everything yet every week still turn up in large numbers almost as if they are hypnotised.

Depending on the level of tax, the AFL won't be able to jack their prices up that far without people staying home in droves.

What do you think will happen if memberships and tickets go up by 30 - 50%? People stop going.

Cuts, would be the answer. I always thought it would be interesting to see the players take a 20% across the board cut.

 

[Catoggio76]

Depending on the level of tax, the AFL won't be able to jack their prices up that far without people staying home in droves.

What do you think will happen if memberships and tickets go up by 30 - 50%? People stop going.

Cuts, would be the answer. I always thought it would be interesting to see the players take a 20% across the board cut.

The AFL has created an industry of largely 600-1000 cashed up bogans. VFL worked better as an amateur sport, AFL as a professional sport, where players are full time, is still in dispute.

This may be why players are bored and get into strife with drugs/alcohol etc

A study on the "Professional vs Amateur" mechanisms of Australian Rules Football would cause no harm (except to those who are lining their pockets off the system).

 

[greatwhiteshark]

Depending on the level of tax, the AFL won't be able to jack their prices up that far without people staying home in droves.

What do you think will happen if memberships and tickets go up by 30 - 50%? People stop going.

Cuts, would be the answer. I always thought it would be interesting to see the players take a 20% across the board cut.

The Eagles put prices up a huge amount yearly and it effects nothing, they know the sheep will keep paying. I am one of those sheep.

 

[Power Raid]

all entities should pay tax including sport, churches and charities. If they have bona fide activities, they'll have bona fide expenses and thus have no tax implications.

 

[Furn2]

Who is getting all this money ? no-one. It goes back to the game or its saved to go back to the game one day.

The NFL has owners, no individual profits from the AFL, and don't say Gil because his salary is comparable to other similar jobs.

Also the players and staff pay tax and there's GST on everything we buy in footy.

 

[Bulldog Joe]

Interesting proposition but I think it would be more appropriate to require them to contribute a certain percentage to grass root sport across the nation.

The AFL and NRL are generating the surplus because of the support across the country and the overall health and welfare of the nation would be better served by requiring a community contribution. This would be infinitely better than passing money to Canberra to bolster that bureaucracy.

 

[Bender571]

There' a few different issues at play here.
The first main issue is should professional sport pay tax on their profit? Depends on where their profit goes. If it's paid out as a dividend to an owner then absolutely. But if it's reinvested back into the sport then no, because it's not really a profit, it a saving to spend at a later date. If you tax the AFL they'll either spend it before it become a profit or write off a huge asset and claim a massive loss one year then offset that loss against any future profit so they don't have to pay tax.

The second main issue is should the government subsidise professional sport facilities? Probably not. Professional sports now generate enough money that they should fund there own facilities. At the moment the government is effectively paying for a workplace, allowing the workers to demand an over inflated salary. However governments do it because it looks good to voters, and it generates revenue which looks good to voters.

 

[deltablues]

Depending on the level of tax, the AFL won't be able to jack their prices up that far without people staying home in droves.

What do you think will happen if memberships and tickets go up by 30 - 50%? People stop going.

Cuts, would be the answer. I always thought it would be interesting to see the players take a 20% across the board cut.

Hard to see the AFL trimming its 'diversity'/counseling/social worker/gender & race-based virtue-signalling admin positions. Nor trim its obscenely large senior staff pay packets.

Why? Because the AFL is a classic bureaucratic entity and thus must metastasize and increase its mandate (and expenditure) thru mission creep. It and its TV paymasters are squeezing every last dollar (including the taxpayers') out of the current cultural and political zeitgeist.

The AFL apes the NFL in many ways, but is as yet seemingly unaware that the NFL is now morphing into the No Fans Left NFL - because the NFL has turned into a plaything for the corporates and political shills and hucksters - at the expense of the average Joe Public fans who object to being gouged and preached to.

 

[Tasmaniac]

The Eagles put prices up a huge amount yearly and it effects nothing, they know the sheep will keep paying. I am one of those sheep.

The West Coast's situation (not enough seats vs people who want them, classic supply & demand) isn't replicated anywhere else in the AFL, and as I understand it with the new stadium it won't be the same there either (more seats). Other clubs don't have waiting lists of 10-20,000 they can use to justify large price hikes, being safe in the knowledge that at worst it would cut into the waiting list.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

One of the stupidest things I have heard in a long time. The AFL have zero reason to turn a profit so they never would.

 

[The_Wookie]

Interesting proposition but I think it would be more appropriate to require them to contribute a certain percentage to grass root sport across the nation.

The AFL and NRL are generating the surplus because of the support across the country and the overall health and welfare of the nation would be better served by requiring a community contribution. This would be infinitely better than passing money to Canberra to bolster that bureaucracy.

What certain percentage would that be? The AFL spends 9% of its current income on lower competitions, teams and facilities.

 

[Bulldog Joe]

What certain percentage would that be? The AFL spends 9% of its current income on lower competitions, teams and facilities.

I am thinking something in the order of at least 15% and that should be the sort of trade-off to remain tax exempt.

 

[The_Wookie]

I am thinking something in the order of at least 15% and that should be the sort of trade-off to remain tax exempt.

Does the AFL also get a cut of the tourism income it brings to various states?

 

[Bulldog Joe]

Does the AFL also get a cut of the tourism income it brings to various states?

It gets a fair bit from sponsorships, with the most obvious being the Tasmanian deals for Hawthorn and North.

 

[The_Wookie]

It gets a fair bit from sponsorships, with the most obvious being the Tasmanian deals for Hawthorn and North.

that money goes to clubs, not the AFL itself.