President Donald Trump is suggesting the U.S. change its tax laws to punish organizations like the NFL if members are "disrespecting" the national anthem or flag.
Trump: Punish NFL With Tax Law Change
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting the U.S. change its tax laws to punish organizations like the NFL if members are “disrespecting” the national anthem or flag.
The NFL gave up its federal tax-exempt status a couple years ago and now files tax returns as a taxable entity. So it’s unlikely that Trump’s proposal, tweeted in the early hours Tuesday, would change anything.
Trump tweeted: “Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!”
Trump also tweeted Tuesday that ESPN ratings have “tanked” because of Jemele Hill, the anchor suspended for making political statements on social media.
While NFL viewership is down slightly, ESPN remains among the most popular cable networks, averaging 3 million viewers in primetime.
Comments (23)
Gregg Palermo says:
October 10, 2017 at 9:12 am
The AP argues without supplying any sources of information. “Among the most popular” is not equivalent to “ratings are as strong as ever”
Gene Johnson says:
October 10, 2017 at 9:44 am
Your concern is about whether AP fudged the question of how much ESPN’s ratings for the NFL have declined this year, and not Trump’s unconstitutional proposal to penalize someone through the tax code (i.e., government action) for expressing their political views? Really? We have a president who has no clue about constitutional protections for free speech and your bothered by how ESPN’s ratings are described?
Bo Berezansky says:
October 10, 2017 at 10:00 am
The other side did it…why not??
Julien Devereux says:
October 10, 2017 at 10:06 am
My 4 year old said that yesterday.
Denise Daniels says:
October 10, 2017 at 9:26 am
I’m just glad a game is his biggest concern at the moment…nothing else of concern happening in our country.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Job creation, income inequality, healthcare, national security, trade negotiations?? Nah, why work on that?? We’ve got a clown of a president who likes to focus on shouting down Senators, insulting the news media and threatening the NFL… Oh yeah, he likes to golf even more than O…
Marilyn Hyder says:
October 10, 2017 at 10:05 am
The job of POTUS is first to protect the safety of it’s citizens. We have a “punisher in chief” who lashes out at anyone who challenges him. Trump is not a leader, but a deranged clown occupying the WH for a short while he accomplishes nothing other than establishing a record of massive tweeting of insults.
Scott Cote says:
October 10, 2017 at 2:01 pm
Then you should move to a country where disrespect of the Flag and disrespect to the President of the United States is acceptable. Bye Bye!!
Fred E Walker says:
October 10, 2017 at 2:34 pm
Russian bot.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 5:57 pm
@scv91355: So you haven’t actually read the U.S. Constitution, have you? Doesn’t Vlad have a copy?
Brian Bussey says:
October 10, 2017 at 10:52 am
all those owners who wrote checks for his inauguration are sure feeling appreciated this morning.
yin yu says:
October 10, 2017 at 10:56 am
The NFL teams have used billions of tax dollars to subsidize their stadiums. The teams lack diversity and represent the worst in economic inequality. Players make more in one game then most fans will make in a lifetime. One would think that the left would welcome Trump’s call to stick it to those ungrateful fat cats. There is a lot that I don’t like about America today but I will stand and place my hand over my heart when the anthem is played. I don’t give a damn about the NFL anymore. I love my country more then a team of spoiled multimillionaire dupes for the Marxist left.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 6:04 pm
Fine. Let’s “stick it to those ungrateful fat cats” but let’s not do it as a way to punish a group over their freedom of speech. By the way, square your thinking with the “Right’s” new tax plan, which apparently will give huge (and nearly 5% is huge) tax breaks to the rich. It seems this is going to be done on the same premise that the NFL (and other leagues and corporations) get lots of public subsidies – as a reward for job creation…
Taiwo Akande says:
October 10, 2017 at 11:12 am
I suggest we stop buying the NFL garb and the various colors of the NFL teams and start wearing red, white and blue on Sundays. The league is so out of touch on this. I prefer red, white and blue than any NFL team colors.
Kevin Benz says:
October 10, 2017 at 11:35 am
Long time since this country had a real leader..Trump says what most are afraid to
Jill Hatzioannou says:
October 11, 2017 at 12:04 am
Because most people prefer to make sense when they speak.
Ellen Samrock says:
October 10, 2017 at 12:35 pm
As is to be expected, the AP story is not entirely truthful. Nearly all news outlets report that ESPN ratings are in “deep decline with no end in sight”, to quote Forbes magazine from two weeks ago. Sports Illustrated reported the same thing. While its true that the NFL teams are not tax-exempt, the league is and has for decades registered as a 501c corporation until 2015 when they determined that it was too embarrassing to have to publish the salaries of its commissioners, which are in the 8 figures. That tax exemption is still on the books and should be removed. Plus, as BeyondTheBeltway stated, the stadiums these teams play at are subsidized by tax payers. That practice needs to end ASAP.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 6:06 pm
A few good observations, but see my response to “BeyondTheBeltway” above…
Michelle Underwood says:
October 10, 2017 at 1:01 pm
The tax breaks they get also include deals made on stadiums and other practice facilities, especially in smaller markets where they hold the cities hostage. All these mayors are ego driven jock chasers and always overestimate the economic impact of the team to justify tax abatement for the teams.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 6:09 pm
True. And most of these companies likely would make money hand over fist without tax breaks and subsidies… Seems unfair that ALL business don’t get these perks based on the jobs they create…
Fred E Walker says:
October 10, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Taking away tax breaks to the NFL are fine by me, However, using the tax code as a punitive governmental device to suppress ANYONE’S 1st amendment right to freedom of expression is and should be disturbing to anyone that purports to work in the media industry OR to love this country. True patriotism is taking a potentially unpopular stand or even putting one’s life on the line (as many have) to defend the rights of others to say whatever they wish, as distasteful as what they say may be. As someone once put it “If you deny to anyone else the right to say what you think is wrong, it will not be long before you will lose the right to say what you think is right. Defense of the freedom of others is self-defense. Voltaire stated: ‘I wholly disagree with what you say and will contend to the death for your right to say it.'” Freedom of Expression is one of the key elements of what really Makes America Great Already. If you don’t believe in free speech, move to Cuba.. Or Thailand.. or Russia. In the USA, the constitution protects Freedom of Speech. Any effort to squelch that right should be vigorously defended regardless of political leanings, feelings about the flag, the NFL, the President or any other issue. Some of these comments make me wonder if Russians Intelligence have sent bots to this page.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 10, 2017 at 6:10 pm
Excellent post. Right on the mark.
Snead Hearn says:
October 10, 2017 at 2:02 pm
Political aside…. Ratings on ESPN are down but they are still very profitable. After last nights game the average will drop even more. I am not sure if the protests or just the fact that there is a plethora of games and most are less than exciting have pushed the numbers down. If you did not switch off last night (3 to 2 at half I believe) then that is a whole different problem.