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CONGRESS TEES UP NEW BILL STRIPPING PGA TOUR'S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

Barely a day after the PGA Tour shocked the world by announcing it would be joining a for-profit venture with its heretofore hated rival—the Saudi-backed LIV Golf—a Congressional bill has been introduced to strip the tour of its tax-exempt status.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), the third-ranking minority member on the House Armed Services Committee, proposed the “No Corporate Tax Exemption for Professional Sports Act,” which would end the PGA Tour’s ability to file as an IRS 501-C organization, as it has done for decades.

As Sportico noted in a story published earlier Wednesday, the PGA Tour is one of the last major American pro sports organizations to continue operating as a federal nonprofit, after the NFL voluntarily converted to for-profit status in 2015.

Over the last 15 years, there have been several bills proposed, mostly by Republicans, that would change the Internal Revenue Code to disallow pro sports organizations earning more than $10 million in annual revenue from availing themselves of tax-exempt status.

In a statement to Sportico, Garamendi couched his rationale for the legislation in geopolitical terms.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/golf/2023/pga-tour-tax-exempt-status-congress-bill-1234725406/