Yes, Wisconsin's tax coffers would take a hit if Brewers leave

In his 2023-25 budget proposal, Gov. Tony Evers called for tapping a state surplus to spend $290 million on stadium renovations to help ensure the Milwaukee Brewers stay in Wisconsin.

The cash would go into an escrow account operated by the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, a state-created agency that owns American Family Field and leases it to the Brewers. In return, the Brewers would extend their current ballpark lease, which could expire by the end of 2030, and agree to stay in Milwaukee through 2043. 

But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said the stadium funding question should be taken up outside of the budget process, and has argued there are other sources of money that could better be tapped to address the issue.

(In March we rated Mostly False a claim by Evers that the original plan was "bipartisan" in nature.)

In a March 9 appearance on a "Wisconsin Right Now" podcast, and more recently at the Milwaukee Press Club, Vos has noted that taxes paid by visiting professional athletes could be tapped as a revenue source.

Here is what he said on the podcast:

"When a basketball player or football or baseball player from another team plays in Wisconsin, that one game's salary, they pay Wisconsin income tax on it. ... So, if for some reason we do not have the Brewers in Wisconsin all of those player salaries that generate dollars for the state of Wisconsin go away," Vos said.

This statement piqued our interest. 

Is it true that if the Brewers leave town, Wisconsin’s tax coffers would take a hit? 

Jock tax

If a pro athlete plays in a state that collects income tax, any money made from that game is taxed as income earned in that state, which is informally known as a "jock tax."  

The jock tax has been around in some form since the 1960s, according to several online sources. However, the practice heated up in the 1990s, after the state of California slapped the tax on the earnings of Chicago Bulls players who traveled to Los Angeles for the 1991 NBA finals. Illinois retaliated, imposing a similar tax on out of state players. 

According to Huddle Up, a newsletter focused on the business of sports, such taxes are collected in every state, with the exception of five: Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington and Tennessee.

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The Vos claim came in response to a question about baseball players, so let’s start there.

Patricia A. Mayers, communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, provided a breakdown of the amount of Wisconsin withholding from MLB teams by year, noting It doesn't account for non-wage income of the team employees or any income of individuals who are not employed by the teams.  

State withholding by year
 

Year             Baseball

2012           $8.4 million

2013            $8 million

2014            $8.9 million

2015            $9.2 million

2016             $7.8 million

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2017            $8.8 million

2018            $11.9 million

2019            $12.3 million

2020             $5 million

2021            $10.5 million

2022            $12.4 million

Meanwhile, these are the figures for the three top-level professional leagues in which there is a Wisconsin team, in millions by year:

2020

2021

2022

Baseball

5.0

10.5

12.4

Basketball

10.6

14.1

13.3

Football

21.3

16.1

25.5

So, in 2022 alone, taxes from those visiting athletes topped $50 million.

Vos said: "When a basketball player or football or baseball player from another team plays in Wisconsin, that one game's salary, they pay Wisconsin income tax on it. ... So, if for some reason we do not have the Brewers in Wisconsin all of those player salaries that generate dollars for the state of Wisconsin go away."

Indeed, in 2022 alone, state income taxes on visiting players in the big three leagues topped $50 million.

For a statement that is accurate and has nothing significant missing, our rating is True.