Getting your player ready...
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski, left, says Tennessee is unfairly taxing professional athletes to play in the state. Rafalski estimates 17 teammates will be paying more money in taxes to face off against the Nashville Predators tonight than they will earn for playing. “My complaint with it is . . . 17 teammates will be paying money out of their own pocket to play in Tennessee. It’s a tax rate of over 100 percent,” Rafalski said. A total of 18 states, including Colorado, charge what’s commonly called a “jock tax” to make money off pro athletes visiting their teams. But Tennessee’s tax, which took effect July 1, 2009, is different because the visitors cannot get any relief through a deduction when filing taxes back home.
