Who says number-crunchers don’t have a sense of humour?
In a recent tongue-in-cheek report, the bean counters over at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation detailed how higher taxes could discourage players from signing with NHL teams in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. It was a lighthearted way for the CTF to make a general point about how high taxes can be a deterrent for any skilled worker, be it doctors, engineers or company CEOs.
The taxman has, no doubt, entered the minds of free agents who might potentially sign with the Habs, Leafs, Sens or Jets. And surely those teams have had to up their offers to compensate for the fact that filling out a T-4 is a more tearful experience for players in those provinces. But, of course, nobody is going to make a legitimate case that high taxes have steered the NHL’s top free agents away from an entire geographical region.
Players decide where to play based on all kinds of factors, and if one of them has a desire to suit up closer to home, all the Canadian clubs will hold an advantage over their American brethren. The freshly suspended David Clarkson apparently left money on the table this summer because he wanted to be a Leaf. And before people get all sympathetic for the financial hardships faced by teams in Montreal and Toronto-uh, yeah, right-don’t forget that even if taxes played a role in turning free agents away, those flush franchises would still have a financial advantage because they can afford to support much bigger and better management and development staffs, which is the actual key to forging a great club.
Give the CTF a round of applause for finding a fun way to highlight its agenda. But any fan who believes taxes are at the root of their team’s failure needs to do a more in-depth audit.