[B]ecause of the tax-exempt designation for college athletics, nearly all of the revenue, including that generated by ticket sales, television deals, bowl games and corporate sponsorships flows tax-free.
It looks like a business. It smells like a business. But we won’t call it a business. We won’t because we’re still buying into the fiction that these programs are somehow an integral part of the academics at these schools. So we call it a charity.
… It’s a game – a game that makes a whole lot of money for a whole lot of people. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I just happen to believe it’s not a tax exempt purpose.
August 23rd, 2011 at 3:10PM
Again … money that goes to people is taxed. As very few university athletic departments make money (remember?) it doesn’t matter whether they’re taxed or not. The only real issue seems to be tax deductions on donations (or “donations”) to athletics, and perhaps some sales tax on tickets.