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October 23, 2008
Bad Call: N.Y. Fans Are Getting Ripped Off
WNBC.com
by Gabe Pressman
The IRS has given the New York Yankees, Mets and New Jersey Nets the go-ahead to use tax-free bonds to pay for their new homes.
The new Yankee Stadium, the new Mets Citi Field and the Nets arena in Brooklyn will all benefit from this ruling and the taxpayers of New York will be ripped off. In baseball terms, it's a foul deal and the taxpayers are the victims of a bad call.
...Ultimately, of course, as ticket prices soar and the sale of luxury suites roll up millions of dollars in revenue for the teams, the citizens of New York will be deprived of money. We are a city of rabid sports fans, but New Yorkers will never be enthusiastic about money being taken out of their pockets.
It's a steal -- and not the kind to cheer about.
NoLandGrab: While the IRS's extension of this tax "loophole" will cost New York's taxpayers several million dollars, it'll cost the citizens of the nation's other 49 states hundreds of millions of dollars. And to think people are angry about bailing out banks.
Posted by eric at October 23, 2008 2:20 PM