For football players, winning the Super Bowl is like reaching the peak of their sport. But if it happens in California, there’s a twist.
“Winning the Super Bowl in California means you might get a bill saying, ‘Oh, you lost,’” someone joked.
Since the Super Bowl took place in San Francisco, California taxes players on all “workdays,” not just the earnings from the game itself.
This raises a question: how much could that really amount to?
“You might be shocked to hear this,” the speaker noted.
California differs from other states in that it can tax a portion of a player’s entire season salary based on how many days they worked in the state, not merely their bonuses or game checks.
What are the implications for the Seahawks players, who got a $178,000 bonus for their Super Bowl win? They might end up contributing more to the state than they actually owe.
“How is it possible to win the Super Bowl and still lose money? California figured it out,” the speaker remarked.
The state has strict nonresident income tax laws for visiting athletes, often referred to as the “Jock Tax.”
“California’s marginal tax rates exceed 13 percent, and there are discussions about increasing those rates,” the speaker shared.
“When a government asserts the ability to tax income earned elsewhere merely because a person was there, it’s not about taxing activity—it’s about taxing existence,” they warned.
Looking back, there were the “crazy Marxist professors” in the 1970s, who influenced welfare policies in a way that aimed to create crises leading to significant reforms.
“They imposed hefty taxes and enforced their rules aggressively. They said, ‘You owe us for being here.’ What happened then? Capital Flight,” the speaker continued.
Such cases aren’t rare. Throughout French history, high “wealth taxes” in the 1980s led many of the richest citizens to leave the country.
“The wealthy didn’t stay to pay more; they just left, leading to billions disappearing, along with the economic activity they generated,” they explained.
Ancient Rome faced similar issues.
“In its declining years, Rome drained its productive citizens dry. Why? They were inflating government costs. The tax base collapsed, and the economy crumbled along with it,” the speaker stated.
A recurring theme through history is clear: “You cannot tax people heavily enough to keep them; you can only tax them enough to make them leave.”
Will California heed these lessons? It seems unlikely.
“For the sixth straight year, California continues to see net population decline,” the speaker pointed out, noting that numerous major companies have left, film production has dwindled, and billionaires are shifting their residences to places like Florida.
But, rather than examining the deeper issues, the response seems to be to tax whatever remains.
“That’s the peril of the ‘joke tax’ mindset,” they articulated. “Once you accept that location grants the government authority over your entire life, there are no limits left.”
For more details, there’s a video available above.
