What do the Leafs have to do to fix this issue? Do Canadian teams have a shot of having consistent success and or runs in the playoffs? To further clarify, I did not say that the Liberal party has done well in lowering the cost of living. In fact, I think the opposite. Rather they have tools which they can use to do so... But they haven't.
taxes are just a red herring. "no tax" states still have roads bridges schools etc. its collected mainly through property taxes instead... so unless these guys are living in a box in the ground. they're getting taxed.
Are there other teams that face the same issue but for different reasons? For example, players say they're super hyped to play Madison Square Garden. Do players score above their per game average when playing in that building? What about the second highest hockey player producing province (was it Quebec?)? Do French players find a second gear when playing in Montreal?
I think you could have validated your point with one of the two following situations: looking at Ontario players vs Ottawa Senators (since the fanbase is much smaller and less engrained, to show that it is a Toronto issue exclusively) OR look into Quebec/BC/Alberta players against the Canadiens/Canucks/oilers-Flames.
If anyone deserves tax breaks for work it's the construction work, the meat cutter, the guy or gal the walks up everyday to work 12+ hours a day to work for survival. Sorry but I could care less that a hockey player making 1 million less per year.
They don’t need to remove tax from certain teams, they need to increase the cap for teams in high tax areas to even the playing field with places like florida or Tampa that don’t have tax
I don't want to get political, then proceeds to praise the Liberal government for keeping grocery store CEO's accountable? Might want to mention how the cost of living has almost tripled in the last 9 years there bud
Might want to take an economics class on global inflation, "bud". Please don't think yourself capable of making a cogent point. Just regurgitating what a screen told you.
and you think a conservative government who is best friend's with big corps and ceo's are going to... keep prices down? look at yourself in the mirror. please be real. The Quebec government right now is made up of landlords. Guess what's happen right now with our renting situations? it's a SHITSHOW. Protections we have as renters to keep prices down are being ripped away from us. Montreal is no longer going to be the affordable Canadian city it used to be- prices have been disgusting recently. we have a rotten system and it's all the fault of the landlords we have as politicians. So again. Look at the conservatives and who is lobbying for them. Who are they buddy buddy with. You'll have a solid idea of how much worse it'll be once/if they get voted in.
Man I have no clue how you interpreted my video that way, when I literally said the opposite. The liberals can lower the prices due to regulations, subsidies, and sanctions. However, they haven’t, in fact that have failed horribly
@@RobTalksHockey Probably the most sensible thing to do would be to run a system through the NHL in a centralized area meaning that all contracts are subject to the same tax amounts. would eliminate any alienation or advantages to living in a state with out tax. obviously it is more complicated than that but i think it would be the best solution to the "problems" we are seeing today.
The liberal government and Trudeau keeps cost of living down --- man how much did Trudeau pay you to say that? And which one of his 5000 scandals did he use to fund you?
Anyone else see the irony in so many players going to the NHL from Ontario and wanting to play in Toronto, yet their current star player is a kid from Arizona of all places?
Aren't players taxed based on the location of the individual games? So only 50% of the season is taxed from their home location. Also, places like Toronto offer more opportunities for advertisement deals for players because of the popularity of the sport in Canada. Most commercials I see in the US have either basketball or football stars. I think the situation is much more complex than it seems from a surface level. I think the main issue Canadian teams have had is the management of team building. The Leafs structure is so crazy. They have so much money tied up in only 4 guys. Calgary and Ottawa have been a mess from a front office point of view. Winnipeg is making questionable decisions when it comes to player development. There's a lot of factors at play.
The taxation is very convoluted and I simplified it by only including provincial rates. For example the US has higher federal tax rates, and the individual states dictate the rest. Many US states actually have higher taxes
@@RobTalksHockey If I recall correctly Alberta is the lowest taxed province in Canada (NWT) is less. But we would be the the 3rd or 4th highest taxed state.
Something a lot of people forget is that despite most NHL players being Canadian, a lot of them would rather play in the US largely because of media attention. The Canadian press is ruthless to underperforming hockey players, and I get it's a meme (waaa I'm a NHL player making millions and the newpaper said mean thing), but these things are important to a lot of lowkey guys who just want to play hockey. Take that, plus the fact that American fans are usually much less serious hockey fans, and it adds a more relaxed atmosphere not just outside the game but inside as well. The tax situation is just one piece of a massive puzzle that the Canadian teams have that most US teams do not, and while the NHL could definitely see improvement on the tax problem, I don't think it would magically solve everything for Canadian teams.
Its pretty funny that the Leafs cant get their hometown boys to take discounts yet many other teams in Canada can get Americans and Europeans to take discounts. Dubas just didnt manage the cap very well and its made nobody in that Leafs core to want to take a discoint because the next guy isnt
The leafs are just straight up horribly run. It really is run like some rich kid playing a video game. But it's pretty obvious every other team is screwed by weather and taxes. Canadian teams are always lacking in one way or another.
Simple solution for the tax thing, make the salaray cap apply to net salaray and not gross. Therefore a player can make 10M Gross/year in Toronto, but it only count to 5.5M on the cap. that same player would wait 8.5M Gross in lets say florida, and it would also only count to 5.5M on the cap (calculations are not based on accual rates, it''s just for an example) I think this would bring true parity to the league, and it would not hurt Canadian teams, as they tent to be the highest profit earning teams in the league (exclusing ottawa... for now)
This is actually the best idea I've seen. I've always just thought that the only way to do it is have separate caps based on tax codes. But this idea seems real good and easier to implement
Did you really just use the one province with a flat provincial tax as a baseline for the entirety of canada... And then imply that the federal government has any say on a provinvial tax rate? While not once mentioning the federal tax... That is controlled by the feds... And then talk about how the liberal government kept the cost of living low.... There is no hope
I used one example of provincial tax, but not as the baseline. Of course each province has different brackets and rates. And I said the fundamentals of a liberal government is to regulate and subsidize cost of living. Which they have failed at
To paraphrase Marge Gunderson, I'm not sure that I agree with you 100% on your police work there, Lou. Your economic argument is pretty convoluted, so I can't get into the whole thing. But the one I want to point to is real estate costs. That's probably the least relevant to a big ticket NHL free agent. If you're buying a 2 million dollar condo in Toronto, you'll probably be able to sell it for at least 2 million. How much money will you actually be losing on your real estate, relative to Dallas or Florida? Property taxes will come into play, and I believe these tend to be higher in low-tax states than in Canada. The total property tax rate in Dallas is about twice that of Toronto, and that's just comparing cities. Expensive suburbs often have even higher taxes. But I'm not an expert on real estate finance, I just know that you can't look at a 2 million dollar house purchase as a 2 million dollar deduction in your total wealth. The income tax argument is more salient, but I really don't think it's a good idea to waive federal (or provincial) taxes for pro athletes. How's that gonna go over with the public? A tax adjusted cap seemingly makes the most sense, but is complicated by the fact that a lot of US states love to charge so-called Jock Taxes on athletes from visiting teams. The Leafs are uniquely cursed in their cap structure. There's no other Canadian team built like them. This season, they get to have four forwards that all earn over 10 million dollars. These are good forwards, but to beat the Leafs in a series you basically just need to shut down two forward lines. Contrast Vancouver: only one forward earns more than 10 million, and that's starting this season. They've got 16 mil tied up in their top pair, with the more expensive of those contracts being an absolute steal. Contrast Montreal, who took a chance on guys they think will be stars. It may blow up in their faces, but that's the gamble that successful teams have made in the past, and we'll be able to compare it to Toronto in 2-3 years. Hell, contrast Edmonton. The Darnell Nurse deal is an absolute disaster and yet they still had enough breathing room to build a contending roster.
I think the tax situation gets vastly overblown and is a much smaller factor (or perhaps no factor) in this discussion. The highest tax bracket in California is actually higher than in Ontario (incl. state/provincial and federal income tax.) at over 50%, yet LA has 2 recent championships. San Jose and Anaheim were both 2 of the best teams in the league with absolutely stacked rosters in the 2000s. MA at 46% is almost the same as ON but the Bruins knock out the Leafs every playoffs. New Jersey at nearly 48% eclipses ON yet they have won 3 cups since the last Canadian team to do it, and are putting together another great roster to contend a few years from now. Really when people freak out about tax they are looking at Florida teams, so let's talk about Florida: The Panthers were consistently one of the worst teams in the league for over 25 years until finally having a breakthrough. No one questioned the tax advantages when they were fielding a team that went over 0.600 point % just once in 25 years. Of course they were bound to be good at some point, and if anything this team is exemplified by good team play and coaching, and isn't exactly a superteam with tons of team friendly contracts. Really, everyone is talking about Tampa Bay when they think about Florida teams. This team drafted Stamkos and Hedman in consecutive seasons, then followed that up with Kucherov 58th overall, Vasi 19th overall, then Point 79th overall. That is a drafted superteam right there, and if you look at their contract history, the timing on those contracts were incredible because most were not considered team friendly at the time. Pittsburgh is one of the only good examples of everyone taking team friendly contracts that I can think of, and I am sure taxes helped, but winning a cup before signing new contracts is what really helped. Sid taking the huge paycut was to keep a winning team together, and that set the precedent for the others to follow. If Pittsburgh doesn't beat Detroit that year, we might have been looking at a very different NHL landscape. There are a lot of issues with Canadian teams preventing them from winning a Stanley Cup, and I think blaming taxes is a huge cop out. Even with the current salary situation Toronto didn't need to pay the kind of money they did for their players. But if you sign John Tavares to $11M, which was completely unnecessary, even at the time, can you blame a player like Matthews commanding 11.6? Let's increase the tax burden on normal citizens so that we can sign hockey players for cheaper. Do you trust the Maple Leafs not to squander the extra cap space? As much as I have criticism for the gov't I'd rather put the tax money in their hands than the Leafs.
The JT deal was needed. Many teams were offering more for him (iirc Columbus was offering like 13M) and he took the leafs deal even though he had more favorable ones. Sure looking back it was bad, but other teams could have had it way worse.
Panthers were bound to be good? Buddy, no. It's not some fluke. Bill Zito built a championship team and his asset management has been immaculate. You're also making it seem like they don't have some heavy hitters: Barkov, Tkachuk, Reinhart, Verhaeghe, Forsling, Montour...I could go on. Do you even KNOW the Panthers? They're one of the greatest teams since the cap era. And if you still can't acknowledge that, just wait, their ride isn't over.
@@olgak57 You are missing the point so badly it's astonishing. I'm saying it is expected that an org will finally succeed in building a great team after 30 years of trying. If the panthers were perennially good we could argue they had an advantage with signing free agents or extending players for cheap. But since this is the only good team in their history, I'm arguing it was made by going through all the trials and tribulations of a team trying to build in a competitive league. And when did I say it wasn't a great team? It is true though that they didn't have many huge free agent signings. A lot of their team was drafted or players that succeeded after they got to Florida - meaning they built the team on smart trades, hard work and good coaching and not on some kind of financial advantage.
@@darcys842JT took a discount relative to market to play for the Leafs, but the result was that they had a poor cap allocation overall. In isolation, the JT contract was a no-brainer, but I believe the money would have been much better spent on defense.
The thing with the local economic activity vs taxes argument, is the 280M is great* ** *for the one city **once every 17 years or so (dallas had an 18 year gap between their most recent scf appearances, random chance odds are 1/16)
You don't get the math. Virtually every bar from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland made a fortune off the playoffs. People spent like mad. The average Canadian spent $9 on the playoff run. Obviously the majority of that money was in reality via diehard fans, but it was a national thing.
As someone who has grown up in Ontario, you are over estimating how many kids grow up as Leafs fans. While there are many, I know about as many Habs fans in SW Ontario as Leafs. That also isn't accounting for Red Wings, Sens fans or fans of other teams who relish in Leafs misery. The Tax issue is also very misleading, as you are putting Canadian Federal Tax, vs State Tax. Yes we Tax more federally then the US, but Provincial Tax is the comparison you want since you still have to pay Federal tax if you have Canadian Citizenship regardless of where you live.
That just feels like poor excuses for Toronto's front office mistakes IMHO. Edmonton was that close to getting it done. We've seen other (canadian) teams make it pretty damn far in the yoffs (even if, yes granted, some of those were a flash in the pan). Toronto's greatest problem is giving everything to just four players. That's not a team. So long as this problem persists, they'll be great in the regular season and mediocre at best in the yoffs.
Cool research at the beginning of the video but then this goes off the rails. A Canadian team going on a run doesn’t unify Canada. If you want to unify Canada through sports you do it by better funding your Olympic program, not through tax breaks for millionaires.
I really hope Pierre can address the issue! Trudeau has done nothing but take from Canadians and make it almost impossible to survive even as a full-time employee. Ive never seen such incompetence in my life.
@@PancaketheCorgi pros and cons haha. People from Canada take our education system for granted. As someone with a family of teachers, yes there are issues, but for the most part, we are world leaders for a reason
As an American, I don’t believe that Canada is falling apart in the hockey world, or if it is happening, it’s not as bad as people say it is. However, if Trudeau stays in power, than Hockey Canada will completely fall off because no one will want to play it since it will be too expensive, not to mention how horribly managed it would be.
I don't think it's up to the Canadian federal or local government to decrease the NHL players taxes, since it's not all about morale. If Toronto REALLY wanted, they could easily find a way to collaborate with the league and find a workaround that would benefit every team. But they don't really care, since they have a strong fanbase that is willing to pay A LOT for a game ticket.
"a liberal government keeps the cost of living down"....really? Because since weve had a liberal government the cost of living has only increased. I was making $15/hr in 2015 and lived fine had my own apartment. I make doible and yet i struggle more now than i did back then
Oh man I agree. The Liberal government has done a horrible job protecting the people. What I was trying to say, is they should have the tools to protect us, but, they haven't
Ex Army Ranger here RLTW…. I spent 2 years in the analytical the most volatile regions of Afghanistan…. I’d go back for another year then face the scrutiny from fan boys and media in Toronto. At least people trying to end my life there made sense….. … the comparison to leaving a war zone is valid.
This video was so well put together! As a Leafs fan from Toronto I’ve been saying the same thing for years. There’s another factor that can’t be over looked. The weather. Imagine playing in a Southern NHL US State team. Less tax, less expensive, and no snow? I understand want we haven’t won a cup in 30 years. There’s too many factors of players not wanting to play here. There’s not enough benefits for them to do so. Amazing video man!
Hey fair enough, but here’s the thing. The NHL has a vested interest in seeing success in American markets. They also have a vested interest, in keeping the money in the owners pockets. I can’t see a reality where the league makes changes that costs owners more money to create parity through the cap. I can see a government backing the #1 sport in the country. But what do I know
Great video Rob you may want to update your Czech terminology from the C. Republic to Czechia as they have changed the countries name (albeit somewhat unofficially)
In the 80's I remember many NHL players vocally stating they refused to play in Canada because of the tax situations. I remember Eric Lindros even used it as an excuse for the longest time. I don't think that is a good excuse though as every Canadian team has those taxes and Montreals worse and theyre doing somewhat okay. Toronto has changed their players, their staffs, their location, their buildings, everything except their ownership. I eman they even considered it was something in the freaking WATER at one point a while back. I actually think Toronto's ownership intentionally keeps the team competitive but hungry because that expectation of ' They will do it this year' brings in money. They fail as usual. people groan, but next year, a dozen games in, and theyre all thinking they can do it again. Im just a 50 year old guy who has watched things since 1985 shake down even back in the Eagleson era so the machinations behind the ownerships is something so abysmally criminal even today ( Chicago Blackhawks recent issues) its not unheard of to do something like this as long as it keeps a profit margin.
I think that the leafs situation is mainly caused by poor managing not taxes. The difference is really not that big because we play games in the US and the team in US also play games in Canada and the taxes are dependent on where the games are played. Also, the habs have managed to build a proper cap situation where everyone takes good deal to allow the team to win.
Not to make too fine a point on it. Taylor Hall was born and grew up in Calgary Alberta. His family moved to Kingston when he was 13 years old. He never had a special relationship with Toronto or the Leafs.
The tax argument is ridiculous. No player in the league has - or will - cite taxation as a reason they won't sign with a Canadian team. This is only speculation by analysts who make up problems for views. What we do know, is that players that sign with Canadian teams choose to do so because they like the team . If the tax effect really is a problem - and can be proven by anonymous interviews with players - then the NHL should (I know they won't but they should) step up, and introduce equalizations, so that players aren't being unfairly attracted to places like Florida when taxation rates are out of control. Players that pay less taxes pay more into an NHLPA fund, and gets distributed fairly and according to salary, across the league. League revenue also goes into this, with the intent of removing this supposed taxation issue. Not perfect, but that way, states that choose to foolishly not tax high revenues can keep doing so, and governments that (rightly and legally) tax high income earners can continue taxing the players as they normally had. Funnily enough, any player who earns league minimum is so much better off than the average person, that its hard for regular people to feel sympathy over arguments such as "oh, he wanted $6 mil but in Canada he'd only get $4 mil because of taxes." Show us the proof that this is a real issue. If it is, then let's fix it. If not, then can it.
If its clear that players aren't getting paid as much in different markets, why isn't that factored into the salary cap... it honestly seems silly for each team to have the same salary cap :/
These multi-millionaires can just shut up and pay taxes and live within their extravagant means. Stop defending millionaires from *checks notes* a functioning society
If the NHL and the NHLPA just agreed on the cap being calculated from "salaries after taxes" (obviously calculating the tax percentage from the day of signing and, if traded, the day of trading) this would never be a topic for discussion. Sadly, I don't think that would fix the Canadian teams' issues with winning the cup as that mostly come down to poor management. It would however be the most fair system, and I'm all for that.
1. It’s not the « toronto effect » Ottawa is in Ontario too. Is the same apply here? In Montreal, Quebec players in opposing teams always thrive. 2. There is no « Trudeau » effect. Taxes where always high in Canada. We have social insurance. 3. You can’t lower the taxes of the richer hockey players, it doesn’t make sense. They already rich. Also, not every player can play in USA. Place are limited. 4. Yes you pay more taxes in Canada but your American dollar is worth 40% more here. So your cost of living is automatically less expensive than the average Canadian. Also, in the USA, you need to pay health insurance.
You still pay for health insurance in Canada. The difference is the average person gets it through their employer for barely any actual cost in the US, while you always pay out the @$$ in Canada via taxes.
@@chrismdb5686 depending on your revenue. I think it makes sense. You don’t get rich by yourself on a deserted island., so it makes sense you give back more.
@@etienneroussel8651 Or everyone pays their fair share and you can help your community when you want since it's your money. I shouldn't have to foot part of the bill for the alcoholic that needs his third liver, or the unrepentant chain smoker that has cancer for the third time after refusing to get help and quit. People should not only reap what they sow, but keep their hard earned money. The biggest mistake you people ever made was giving the government your wallet.
9:00 The whole tax argument is not something the govt should EVER get involved in. That is, flat out, for the LEAGUE to solve. They can very very very easily allow teams to have a slightly higher cap to account for this tax situation. Or the league can make it so you get paid more to account for taxes without affecting AAV. Taxes didn't make Bergevin a terrible GM or Dubas. Taxes didn't make these teams whiff on an infinite number of draft picks and trades. Taxes didn't make Ottawa trade Tkachuk for Hub (which is what directly led to one of the small tax teams, florida, beating a canadian team, Edmonton) Canada's NHL teams have several problems. Problems much bigger than stat tax differences. Bigger problems include a mix of bad luck and inept, nepotistic front office personnel hires constantly screwing up. Chicago taxes are through the stratosphere and they had a dynasty. But before that they had decades of ineptitude. it wasn't because of state taxes, it was because Wirtz was a malignant tumor of an owner.
It is hilarious how your whole fan base attacks Nylander while he is your best player in the playoffs. Matthews and Marner are no shows. Tavares is getting old. The window is closing.
8:39 orrrr the nhl could just adjust salaries to match tax and then keep a standard dollar amount for the cap hit, and then there is no massive corporations getting tax breaks for the sake of it which is a very slippery slope.
Your tax numbers are inaccurate because players are only taxed for games they play in Canada. Likewise, players on American will get taxed for games they play in Canada.
It will always be a horrible idea for whatever political party is in power at the time to give a tax break to millionaire athletes. If this issue is ever going to get resolved it would have to come from the league adjusting the cap for tax differences in different markets.
Don't give breaks for millionaires, push the government to be harsher against millionaires and billionaires of all kinds and push instead the league to adjust the cap for area and the tax there if you want to talk about economics.
tbh rob raises some good points here (esp. the comparison in tax rev. would be more if they lowered tax on salaries but get more revenue through better teams and more revenue from sales etc. so its a net positive; this is hard to understand for the normal guy without economics understanding) sadly many things have to be left out due to the scope of the video etc. give him some slack guys
Ive been saying this for a while. But either do an After Tax salary Cap or abolish the cap altogether. By having a cap basically low tax areas will have the best teams
Can't just give tax write-offs for players just for being a pro hockey player. Instead, make it incentive-based. Take off a certain amount for making the playoffs and even more for each round of the playoffs they win. That way, players on teams that do poorly don't get write-offs when the community isn't being benefitted by having playoff games.
While I enjoyed your hockey opinion, your opinion on the Liberal government shows me you are not fully researching politics before speaking. The most successful hockey states in the last 6-7 years are more right winged with their approach to government and taxation. Lower income tax and capital gains tax along with lower prices of houses and commodities, it’s a no brainer for players. The liberal government in Canada has increased taxation and desensitized businesses from investing in our economy. VOTE PP
That is exactly what I said. 7 of the last 5 finals have contained teams from no tax states. Canada’s mismanagement through the liberal government has made it unappealing to many players. That is of course, unless they sign to their market value
2:35 Ontario stands at roughly 14 million population wise, while Quebec has closer to 8million people and Alberta is closer to 4million people. Safe to say Alberta produces quality hockey players at similar and better rates but just at a lesser overall concentration? What a cool insight to a video 🙌🏻
every team that comes into toronto plays harder then when they play anywhere else. no real explanation for it, i toss it up to toronto being the "mecca" of the hockey world and people love to hate em, so nhl teams visiting come in fired up
I wish (and yes, I am careful of what I wish for) that the NHL Board Of Governor's would allow players to be paid "on par" dollars Canadian vs American. This way, the talent loss of Canadian born players / talent would be necessarily drawn to U.S. markets by money increase incentive.
Almost every province has tax credits for film & television, and I think that tax credits for hockey organizations could be possible too. Credits that could be used as additional bonus incentives for signings.
the tax credits are for the organizations THEMSELVES- not for the individual people. A hockey player is not an organization. You don't get tax cuts because you're a camera man in quebec for example, or because you yourself work in video games in montreal. The tax credits go to the company as an entity. If you are being payed salary or hourly, you should pay your taxes. Millionaires should be no exception come on. The USA is suffering in so many ways because of their tax cuts to the rich, it's part a huge issue. let's not start. the tax credits you find for film and TV is to bring more business into Canada/said province- Canada does not have a problem with Hockey. We are missing cups yes, but our Hockey culture is still alive and well.
Players are taxed where they play. 41 one of those games are at home. Other American big markets such as NYC, BOS, LA etc have very similar taxe brackets. The Canadian market even have an advantage since players are paid in US and live/spend in Canada. The exchange rate is advantageous even before considering the housing situation. Anyways, if you make 100 M in your career, it is not 20M more over a career that will change anything in your life and your wallet. That’s not how money works. That’s a poor excuse for Toronto. They can look no further than their bitter rivals of Montreal to see players that took team friendly contracts over the years.
this tax loophole is still a way for the salary cap to not really be parody for all teams equally. needs to change, should be an exception put in or the NHL needs to give Canadian teams more salary cap to compensate.
This man not only defended Trudeau but also said hi biggest strength is affordability and protection from big corporations? I'm trying not to be disrespectful here but do you know anything about the state of Canada's economy? Bro...
Rob, i have a hard time listening to spectators/media/fans calling for players to take less money. Have you ever worked in to your boss and said I love it here, I'll take less money. These players should go for the bag everytime, it doesn't mean they love playing somewhere any less.
One of the worst hockey videos I've ever seen. Trudeau is literally destroying the country. And you're tone deaf to that and chalk it up to what can be done for hockey. Wow. Unsubscribed.
This just sounds like a bunch of whining to me. Look at the 2010's, Chicago and LA won 5 Stanley Cups in their high taxed States of Illinois and California. GM's of Canadian teams need to do a better job with the cap. Also, Canadian players have a ton of tax write offs, and can lower their taxes.
... OR the NHL can just adjust the cap for teams under higher tax situations. Players get paid, countries get their taxes, but a handful of billionaire owners might lose a few bucks so that's not happening.
The Leafs have a MASSIVE problem. Yes, competent goaltending and defense lol. I'd be curious to see if this translates to Ottawa as well, considering it's also in ON.
Who out of JT and Little Mitchy are willing to take a hometown discount for the betterment of the team next year. That is the 11 million dollar question 😅
Im a wings fan but i am a Canadian i was cheering my butt off for Edmonton im 25 ive never seen a Canadian team win a cup and McDavid is the best player in the world i was heartbroken when they lost that game 7 also i dont know what you are talking about the grocery prices are through the roof as is everything else the inflation in this country is insane right now brother our cost of living is ridiculous right now but great video as always
What would u like the Canadian gov to do. Give millionaires a tax break while the average person pays full taxes? You’d like them to address it, than what do u propose?
I wish league adjusted salary cap based on taxes. The government is not going to stop collecting and wasting money. There are a lot of new arrivals who depend on it.
Seems to be the fairest way to do so as not to give such a large competitive advantage for so many American teams. But it’s seems the NHL isn’t interested in a level playing field.
What do the Leafs have to do to fix this issue? Do Canadian teams have a shot of having consistent success and or runs in the playoffs?
To further clarify, I did not say that the Liberal party has done well in lowering the cost of living. In fact, I think the opposite. Rather they have tools which they can use to do so... But they haven't.
I hope the Vancouver Canucks can
Definitely gonna have to be a trade down for picks and depth with Mitch or someone in the core. Someone also NEEDs to take that pay cut.
taxes are just a red herring. "no tax" states still have roads bridges schools etc.
its collected mainly through property taxes instead...
so unless these guys are living in a box in the ground. they're getting taxed.
Are there other teams that face the same issue but for different reasons? For example, players say they're super hyped to play Madison Square Garden. Do players score above their per game average when playing in that building? What about the second highest hockey player producing province (was it Quebec?)? Do French players find a second gear when playing in Montreal?
I think you could have validated your point with one of the two following situations: looking at Ontario players vs Ottawa Senators (since the fanbase is much smaller and less engrained, to show that it is a Toronto issue exclusively) OR look into Quebec/BC/Alberta players against the Canadiens/Canucks/oilers-Flames.
If anyone deserves tax breaks for work it's the construction work, the meat cutter, the guy or gal the walks up everyday to work 12+ hours a day to work for survival. Sorry but I could care less that a hockey player making 1 million less per year.
And that's why we're always gonna lose
@@leboeufmuetdesicile5217 Who?
They don’t need to remove tax from certain teams, they need to increase the cap for teams in high tax areas to even the playing field with places like florida or Tampa that don’t have tax
Agreed buddy. Everyone knows someone who works HARD everyday that is just getting by whom deserves a lot more.
Word!!!!!
I don't want to get political, then proceeds to praise the Liberal government for keeping grocery store CEO's accountable? Might want to mention how the cost of living has almost tripled in the last 9 years there bud
Might want to take an economics class on global inflation, "bud".
Please don't think yourself capable of making a cogent point. Just regurgitating what a screen told you.
and you think a conservative government who is best friend's with big corps and ceo's are going to... keep prices down? look at yourself in the mirror. please be real.
The Quebec government right now is made up of landlords. Guess what's happen right now with our renting situations? it's a SHITSHOW. Protections we have as renters to keep prices down are being ripped away from us. Montreal is no longer going to be the affordable Canadian city it used to be- prices have been disgusting recently. we have a rotten system and it's all the fault of the landlords we have as politicians.
So again. Look at the conservatives and who is lobbying for them. Who are they buddy buddy with. You'll have a solid idea of how much worse it'll be once/if they get voted in.
Yeah that was an outright lie
not one good thing has come from liberal government lol
Man I have no clue how you interpreted my video that way, when I literally said the opposite. The liberals can lower the prices due to regulations, subsidies, and sanctions. However, they haven’t, in fact that have failed horribly
The Canadian govt will just waste the tax money anyway
The politicians gotta pay for their upcoming life long pensions somehow 🤷🏻♂️
@@maxentiusdecimus9341that’s what the special interest donors are for
"Da' government" is the height of dumb arguments.
@@cassiusdhami9215 you seem to be the only one that thinks that. And you know what that means...
Or just steal it
When I read the title I was so happy because I thought it meant they only had one problem
the tax situation opens up a whole can of worms.
Absolutely
@@RobTalksHockey Probably the most sensible thing to do would be to run a system through the NHL in a centralized area meaning that all contracts are subject to the same tax amounts. would eliminate any alienation or advantages to living in a state with out tax. obviously it is more complicated than that but i think it would be the best solution to the "problems" we are seeing today.
communist regime of canada.
driving over the border shows you what happens when you dont have any taxes lol, buffalo looks like a post apocalyptic city
@@gog4life708 You really think that New York state is a tax haven?!
The liberal government and Trudeau keeps cost of living down --- man how much did Trudeau pay you to say that? And which one of his 5000 scandals did he use to fund you?
Anyone else see the irony in so many players going to the NHL from Ontario and wanting to play in Toronto, yet their current star player is a kid from Arizona of all places?
Given that the coyotes don't exist anymore makes it more ironic.
that isn't irony.
@@rerega3177 this also isn't irony.
Toronto is not a destination players are clambering to go to.
An American Mexican is the best goal scorer in Canada's game
Aren't players taxed based on the location of the individual games? So only 50% of the season is taxed from their home location. Also, places like Toronto offer more opportunities for advertisement deals for players because of the popularity of the sport in Canada. Most commercials I see in the US have either basketball or football stars. I think the situation is much more complex than it seems from a surface level. I think the main issue Canadian teams have had is the management of team building. The Leafs structure is so crazy. They have so much money tied up in only 4 guys. Calgary and Ottawa have been a mess from a front office point of view. Winnipeg is making questionable decisions when it comes to player development. There's a lot of factors at play.
The taxation is very convoluted and I simplified it by only including provincial rates. For example the US has higher federal tax rates, and the individual states dictate the rest. Many US states actually have higher taxes
@@RobTalksHockey
If I recall correctly Alberta is the lowest taxed province in Canada (NWT) is less. But we would be the the 3rd or 4th highest taxed state.
Something a lot of people forget is that despite most NHL players being Canadian, a lot of them would rather play in the US largely because of media attention. The Canadian press is ruthless to underperforming hockey players, and I get it's a meme (waaa I'm a NHL player making millions and the newpaper said mean thing), but these things are important to a lot of lowkey guys who just want to play hockey. Take that, plus the fact that American fans are usually much less serious hockey fans, and it adds a more relaxed atmosphere not just outside the game but inside as well. The tax situation is just one piece of a massive puzzle that the Canadian teams have that most US teams do not, and while the NHL could definitely see improvement on the tax problem, I don't think it would magically solve everything for Canadian teams.
Its pretty funny that the Leafs cant get their hometown boys to take discounts yet many other teams in Canada can get Americans and Europeans to take discounts. Dubas just didnt manage the cap very well and its made nobody in that Leafs core to want to take a discoint because the next guy isnt
The leafs are just straight up horribly run. It really is run like some rich kid playing a video game. But it's pretty obvious every other team is screwed by weather and taxes. Canadian teams are always lacking in one way or another.
Simple solution for the tax thing, make the salaray cap apply to net salaray and not gross. Therefore a player can make 10M Gross/year in Toronto, but it only count to 5.5M on the cap. that same player would wait 8.5M Gross in lets say florida, and it would also only count to 5.5M on the cap (calculations are not based on accual rates, it''s just for an example) I think this would bring true parity to the league, and it would not hurt Canadian teams, as they tent to be the highest profit earning teams in the league (exclusing ottawa... for now)
Brilliant solution. The only issue is that the league wants to make a push in the states so leveling the playing field could jeopardize that vision.
This is actually the best idea I've seen. I've always just thought that the only way to do it is have separate caps based on tax codes. But this idea seems real good and easier to implement
@@RC-pg4hlIf that's the case, then start our own league and piss on Bettman.
That's the solution. But it won't happen as the US franchises want to keep their advantage...
Good thinkin homie!
Did you really just use the one province with a flat provincial tax as a baseline for the entirety of canada...
And then imply that the federal government has any say on a provinvial tax rate?
While not once mentioning the federal tax... That is controlled by the feds...
And then talk about how the liberal government kept the cost of living low....
There is no hope
I used one example of provincial tax, but not as the baseline. Of course each province has different brackets and rates. And I said the fundamentals of a liberal government is to regulate and subsidize cost of living. Which they have failed at
$280 Million dollars seems kinda low, don't You think ?
Take it from someone who's lived in florida their whole life, I can't afford a house yet I make 35 an hour
You couldn't afford a condo in the Toronto suburbs on $35/hr, let alone a house. That wage might get you a house in Thunder Bay. Canada is a shitshow.
Yeah, Marner isn't taking a discount. He's going to take 12-12.75 for sure just to barely edge MacKinnon
To barely WHAT MacKinnon?!
@@rydermartin1021 his contract.
Id rather have MacKinnon anyday and always over Marner.
Marner wants do to WHAT with Mack ?!?
@@RobTalksHockey they guy who said the joke vs the guy who said it louder
To paraphrase Marge Gunderson, I'm not sure that I agree with you 100% on your police work there, Lou.
Your economic argument is pretty convoluted, so I can't get into the whole thing. But the one I want to point to is real estate costs. That's probably the least relevant to a big ticket NHL free agent. If you're buying a 2 million dollar condo in Toronto, you'll probably be able to sell it for at least 2 million. How much money will you actually be losing on your real estate, relative to Dallas or Florida? Property taxes will come into play, and I believe these tend to be higher in low-tax states than in Canada. The total property tax rate in Dallas is about twice that of Toronto, and that's just comparing cities. Expensive suburbs often have even higher taxes. But I'm not an expert on real estate finance, I just know that you can't look at a 2 million dollar house purchase as a 2 million dollar deduction in your total wealth.
The income tax argument is more salient, but I really don't think it's a good idea to waive federal (or provincial) taxes for pro athletes. How's that gonna go over with the public? A tax adjusted cap seemingly makes the most sense, but is complicated by the fact that a lot of US states love to charge so-called Jock Taxes on athletes from visiting teams.
The Leafs are uniquely cursed in their cap structure. There's no other Canadian team built like them. This season, they get to have four forwards that all earn over 10 million dollars. These are good forwards, but to beat the Leafs in a series you basically just need to shut down two forward lines. Contrast Vancouver: only one forward earns more than 10 million, and that's starting this season. They've got 16 mil tied up in their top pair, with the more expensive of those contracts being an absolute steal. Contrast Montreal, who took a chance on guys they think will be stars. It may blow up in their faces, but that's the gamble that successful teams have made in the past, and we'll be able to compare it to Toronto in 2-3 years. Hell, contrast Edmonton. The Darnell Nurse deal is an absolute disaster and yet they still had enough breathing room to build a contending roster.
I think the tax situation gets vastly overblown and is a much smaller factor (or perhaps no factor) in this discussion. The highest tax bracket in California is actually higher than in Ontario (incl. state/provincial and federal income tax.) at over 50%, yet LA has 2 recent championships. San Jose and Anaheim were both 2 of the best teams in the league with absolutely stacked rosters in the 2000s. MA at 46% is almost the same as ON but the Bruins knock out the Leafs every playoffs. New Jersey at nearly 48% eclipses ON yet they have won 3 cups since the last Canadian team to do it, and are putting together another great roster to contend a few years from now. Really when people freak out about tax they are looking at Florida teams, so let's talk about Florida:
The Panthers were consistently one of the worst teams in the league for over 25 years until finally having a breakthrough. No one questioned the tax advantages when they were fielding a team that went over 0.600 point % just once in 25 years. Of course they were bound to be good at some point, and if anything this team is exemplified by good team play and coaching, and isn't exactly a superteam with tons of team friendly contracts. Really, everyone is talking about Tampa Bay when they think about Florida teams. This team drafted Stamkos and Hedman in consecutive seasons, then followed that up with Kucherov 58th overall, Vasi 19th overall, then Point 79th overall. That is a drafted superteam right there, and if you look at their contract history, the timing on those contracts were incredible because most were not considered team friendly at the time.
Pittsburgh is one of the only good examples of everyone taking team friendly contracts that I can think of, and I am sure taxes helped, but winning a cup before signing new contracts is what really helped. Sid taking the huge paycut was to keep a winning team together, and that set the precedent for the others to follow. If Pittsburgh doesn't beat Detroit that year, we might have been looking at a very different NHL landscape.
There are a lot of issues with Canadian teams preventing them from winning a Stanley Cup, and I think blaming taxes is a huge cop out. Even with the current salary situation Toronto didn't need to pay the kind of money they did for their players. But if you sign John Tavares to $11M, which was completely unnecessary, even at the time, can you blame a player like Matthews commanding 11.6? Let's increase the tax burden on normal citizens so that we can sign hockey players for cheaper. Do you trust the Maple Leafs not to squander the extra cap space? As much as I have criticism for the gov't I'd rather put the tax money in their hands than the Leafs.
The JT deal was needed. Many teams were offering more for him (iirc Columbus was offering like 13M) and he took the leafs deal even though he had more favorable ones. Sure looking back it was bad, but other teams could have had it way worse.
well said
Panthers were bound to be good? Buddy, no. It's not some fluke. Bill Zito built a championship team and his asset management has been immaculate. You're also making it seem like they don't have some heavy hitters: Barkov, Tkachuk, Reinhart, Verhaeghe, Forsling, Montour...I could go on. Do you even KNOW the Panthers? They're one of the greatest teams since the cap era. And if you still can't acknowledge that, just wait, their ride isn't over.
@@olgak57 You are missing the point so badly it's astonishing. I'm saying it is expected that an org will finally succeed in building a great team after 30 years of trying. If the panthers were perennially good we could argue they had an advantage with signing free agents or extending players for cheap. But since this is the only good team in their history, I'm arguing it was made by going through all the trials and tribulations of a team trying to build in a competitive league. And when did I say it wasn't a great team? It is true though that they didn't have many huge free agent signings. A lot of their team was drafted or players that succeeded after they got to Florida - meaning they built the team on smart trades, hard work and good coaching and not on some kind of financial advantage.
@@darcys842JT took a discount relative to market to play for the Leafs, but the result was that they had a poor cap allocation overall. In isolation, the JT contract was a no-brainer, but I believe the money would have been much better spent on defense.
The thing with the local economic activity vs taxes argument, is the 280M is great* **
*for the one city
**once every 17 years or so (dallas had an 18 year gap between their most recent scf appearances, random chance odds are 1/16)
You don't get the math. Virtually every bar from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland made a fortune off the playoffs. People spent like mad. The average Canadian spent $9 on the playoff run. Obviously the majority of that money was in reality via diehard fans, but it was a national thing.
As someone who has grown up in Ontario, you are over estimating how many kids grow up as Leafs fans. While there are many, I know about as many Habs fans in SW Ontario as Leafs. That also isn't accounting for Red Wings, Sens fans or fans of other teams who relish in Leafs misery. The Tax issue is also very misleading, as you are putting Canadian Federal Tax, vs State Tax. Yes we Tax more federally then the US, but Provincial Tax is the comparison you want since you still have to pay Federal tax if you have Canadian Citizenship regardless of where you live.
Players are paid in US dollars, so they are getting a premium to play here, not to mention the extensive ad revenue cause hockey is super popular.
That just feels like poor excuses for Toronto's front office mistakes IMHO. Edmonton was that close to getting it done. We've seen other (canadian) teams make it pretty damn far in the yoffs (even if, yes granted, some of those were a flash in the pan). Toronto's greatest problem is giving everything to just four players. That's not a team. So long as this problem persists, they'll be great in the regular season and mediocre at best in the yoffs.
Cool research at the beginning of the video but then this goes off the rails. A Canadian team going on a run doesn’t unify Canada. If you want to unify Canada through sports you do it by better funding your Olympic program, not through tax breaks for millionaires.
regarding the taxes- make the team pay the players' tax, not the player themselves. problem solved
I really hope Pierre can address the issue! Trudeau has done nothing but take from Canadians and make it almost impossible to survive even as a full-time employee. Ive never seen such incompetence in my life.
Yes, Vegas has a low tax rate. We also have one of the worst education systems in the country. Sooooo…..
@@PancaketheCorgi pros and cons haha. People from Canada take our education system for granted. As someone with a family of teachers, yes there are issues, but for the most part, we are world leaders for a reason
For sure. There has to be a happy middle ground in there somewhere. Thanks for the great content.
Let's make things simple: Leafs are garbage no matter how you look at it.
Never thought there would be more players from labrador city than from atlanta
Oilers playoff run did not generate $280 million. Those studies always exaggerate economic impact.
No Doubt.
As an American, I don’t believe that Canada is falling apart in the hockey world, or if it is happening, it’s not as bad as people say it is. However, if Trudeau stays in power, than Hockey Canada will completely fall off because no one will want to play it since it will be too expensive, not to mention how horribly managed it would be.
I don't think it's up to the Canadian federal or local government to decrease the NHL players taxes, since it's not all about morale. If Toronto REALLY wanted, they could easily find a way to collaborate with the league and find a workaround that would benefit every team. But they don't really care, since they have a strong fanbase that is willing to pay A LOT for a game ticket.
"a liberal government keeps the cost of living down"....really? Because since weve had a liberal government the cost of living has only increased. I was making $15/hr in 2015 and lived fine had my own apartment. I make doible and yet i struggle more now than i did back then
Oh man I agree. The Liberal government has done a horrible job protecting the people. What I was trying to say, is they should have the tools to protect us, but, they haven't
@@RobTalksHockey that's fair, any government in power wether liberal or conservative have the power to keep the COL affordable.
Ex Army Ranger here RLTW…. I spent 2 years in the analytical the most volatile regions of Afghanistan…. I’d go back for another year then face the scrutiny from fan boys and media in Toronto. At least people trying to end my life there made sense…..
… the comparison to leaving a war zone is valid.
This video was so well put together! As a Leafs fan from Toronto I’ve been saying the same thing for years. There’s another factor that can’t be over looked. The weather. Imagine playing in a Southern NHL US State team. Less tax, less expensive, and no snow? I understand want we haven’t won a cup in 30 years. There’s too many factors of players not wanting to play here. There’s not enough benefits for them to do so. Amazing video man!
I live in South Florida. It's not just the weather. The quality of life here is infinitely better.
A Liberal government keeping things affordable? That hasn't really played out over the last nine years.
This an NHL issue. It has NOTHING to do with the public. Keep the govt out
Hey fair enough, but here’s the thing. The NHL has a vested interest in seeing success in American markets. They also have a vested interest, in keeping the money in the owners pockets. I can’t see a reality where the league makes changes that costs owners more money to create parity through the cap. I can see a government backing the #1 sport in the country. But what do I know
Lol, the explanation is really simple:
Everyone scores more vs Toronto because they suck.
Nothing to do with where they grew up at or played.
Imagine talking about taxes and thinking Toronto is more impacted than Montreal...
Great video Rob you may want to update your Czech terminology from the C. Republic to Czechia as they have changed the countries name (albeit somewhat unofficially)
Will do in the future 🫡
Not a single Government in the world would change their taxes to give more chances to a championship to their sports team. This is silly.
RTH understands taxation better than most political pundits.
Ontario has 40% of canadas population so it makes sense that 40% of canadian hockey players come from there..
In the 80's I remember many NHL players vocally stating they refused to play in Canada because of the tax situations.
I remember Eric Lindros even used it as an excuse for the longest time.
I don't think that is a good excuse though as every Canadian team has those taxes and Montreals worse and theyre doing somewhat okay.
Toronto has changed their players, their staffs, their location, their buildings, everything except their ownership.
I eman they even considered it was something in the freaking WATER at one point a while back.
I actually think Toronto's ownership intentionally keeps the team competitive but hungry because that expectation of ' They will do it this year' brings in money. They fail as usual. people groan, but next year, a dozen games in, and theyre all thinking they can do it again.
Im just a 50 year old guy who has watched things since 1985 shake down even back in the Eagleson era so the machinations behind the ownerships is something so abysmally criminal even today ( Chicago Blackhawks recent issues) its not unheard of to do something like this as long as it keeps a profit margin.
I think the easy solution for the tax problem is to have teams in places with no state tax have a lower salary cap to level the playing field.
Ontario-born players: "Oh, the Leafs didn't draft me. Hold my [insert your preferred drink] while I light them up in Toronto".
I think that the leafs situation is mainly caused by poor managing not taxes. The difference is really not that big because we play games in the US and the team in US also play games in Canada and the taxes are dependent on where the games are played. Also, the habs have managed to build a proper cap situation where everyone takes good deal to allow the team to win.
7:17 as an ottawa fan I feel personally attacked
Not to make too fine a point on it. Taylor Hall was born and grew up in Calgary Alberta. His family moved to Kingston when he was 13 years old. He never had a special relationship with Toronto or the Leafs.
It’s more so about your friends and family being in attendance than being a fan of the team
Being a cynic, I looked at this video popping up thinking "man, Rob really is in need of views during July..."
The tax argument is ridiculous. No player in the league has - or will - cite taxation as a reason they won't sign with a Canadian team. This is only speculation by analysts who make up problems for views. What we do know, is that players that sign with Canadian teams choose to do so because they like the team . If the tax effect really is a problem - and can be proven by anonymous interviews with players - then the NHL should (I know they won't but they should) step up, and introduce equalizations, so that players aren't being unfairly attracted to places like Florida when taxation rates are out of control. Players that pay less taxes pay more into an NHLPA fund, and gets distributed fairly and according to salary, across the league. League revenue also goes into this, with the intent of removing this supposed taxation issue. Not perfect, but that way, states that choose to foolishly not tax high revenues can keep doing so, and governments that (rightly and legally) tax high income earners can continue taxing the players as they normally had. Funnily enough, any player who earns league minimum is so much better off than the average person, that its hard for regular people to feel sympathy over arguments such as "oh, he wanted $6 mil but in Canada he'd only get $4 mil because of taxes." Show us the proof that this is a real issue. If it is, then let's fix it. If not, then can it.
If its clear that players aren't getting paid as much in different markets, why isn't that factored into the salary cap... it honestly seems silly for each team to have the same salary cap :/
These multi-millionaires can just shut up and pay taxes and live within their extravagant means. Stop defending millionaires from *checks notes* a functioning society
If the NHL and the NHLPA just agreed on the cap being calculated from "salaries after taxes" (obviously calculating the tax percentage from the day of signing and, if traded, the day of trading) this would never be a topic for discussion.
Sadly, I don't think that would fix the Canadian teams' issues with winning the cup as that mostly come down to poor management.
It would however be the most fair system, and I'm all for that.
1. It’s not the « toronto effect » Ottawa is in Ontario too. Is the same apply here? In Montreal, Quebec players in opposing teams always thrive.
2. There is no « Trudeau » effect. Taxes where always high in Canada. We have social insurance.
3. You can’t lower the taxes of the richer hockey players, it doesn’t make sense. They already rich. Also, not every player can play in USA. Place are limited.
4. Yes you pay more taxes in Canada but your American dollar is worth 40% more here. So your cost of living is automatically less expensive than the average Canadian. Also, in the USA, you need to pay health insurance.
You still pay for health insurance in Canada. The difference is the average person gets it through their employer for barely any actual cost in the US, while you always pay out the @$$ in Canada via taxes.
@@chrismdb5686 I know. But it’s part of the taxes you pay. It’s not private.
@@etienneroussel8651 Which is infinitely worse because you split everyone's bills.
@@chrismdb5686 depending on your revenue. I think it makes sense. You don’t get rich by yourself on a deserted island., so it makes sense you give back more.
@@etienneroussel8651 Or everyone pays their fair share and you can help your community when you want since it's your money. I shouldn't have to foot part of the bill for the alcoholic that needs his third liver, or the unrepentant chain smoker that has cancer for the third time after refusing to get help and quit.
People should not only reap what they sow, but keep their hard earned money. The biggest mistake you people ever made was giving the government your wallet.
9:00
The whole tax argument is not something the govt should EVER get involved in. That is, flat out, for the LEAGUE to solve. They can very very very easily allow teams to have a slightly higher cap to account for this tax situation. Or the league can make it so you get paid more to account for taxes without affecting AAV.
Taxes didn't make Bergevin a terrible GM or Dubas.
Taxes didn't make these teams whiff on an infinite number of draft picks and trades.
Taxes didn't make Ottawa trade Tkachuk for Hub (which is what directly led to one of the small tax teams, florida, beating a canadian team, Edmonton)
Canada's NHL teams have several problems. Problems much bigger than stat tax differences. Bigger problems include a mix of bad luck and inept, nepotistic front office personnel hires constantly screwing up.
Chicago taxes are through the stratosphere and they had a dynasty. But before that they had decades of ineptitude. it wasn't because of state taxes, it was because Wirtz was a malignant tumor of an owner.
It is hilarious how your whole fan base attacks Nylander while he is your best player in the playoffs. Matthews and Marner are no shows. Tavares is getting old. The window is closing.
“Liberal governments protect cost of living” damn thats funny.
8:39 orrrr the nhl could just adjust salaries to match tax and then keep a standard dollar amount for the cap hit, and then there is no massive corporations getting tax breaks for the sake of it which is a very slippery slope.
Your tax numbers are inaccurate because players are only taxed for games they play in Canada. Likewise, players on American will get taxed for games they play in Canada.
It will always be a horrible idea for whatever political party is in power at the time to give a tax break to millionaire athletes. If this issue is ever going to get resolved it would have to come from the league adjusting the cap for tax differences in different markets.
dude we already know this, players have literally said they play harder when they play in toronto.
Don't give breaks for millionaires, push the government to be harsher against millionaires and billionaires of all kinds and push instead the league to adjust the cap for area and the tax there if you want to talk about economics.
tbh rob raises some good points here (esp. the comparison in tax rev. would be more if they lowered tax on salaries but get more revenue through better teams and more revenue from sales etc. so its a net positive; this is hard to understand for the normal guy without economics understanding) sadly many things have to be left out due to the scope of the video etc. give him some slack guys
I mean the fact the leafs are atrocious defensively doesnt help the numbers lol
Ive been saying this for a while. But either do an After Tax salary Cap or abolish the cap altogether. By having a cap basically low tax areas will have the best teams
Can't just give tax write-offs for players just for being a pro hockey player. Instead, make it incentive-based. Take off a certain amount for making the playoffs and even more for each round of the playoffs they win. That way, players on teams that do poorly don't get write-offs when the community isn't being benefitted by having playoff games.
Salary cap should be on the "net" salary. Evens the field for Canada.
While I enjoyed your hockey opinion, your opinion on the Liberal government shows me you are not fully researching politics before speaking. The most successful hockey states in the last 6-7 years are more right winged with their approach to government and taxation. Lower income tax and capital gains tax along with lower prices of houses and commodities, it’s a no brainer for players. The liberal government in Canada has increased taxation and desensitized businesses from investing in our economy. VOTE PP
That is exactly what I said. 7 of the last 5 finals have contained teams from no tax states. Canada’s mismanagement through the liberal government has made it unappealing to many players. That is of course, unless they sign to their market value
2:35 Ontario stands at roughly 14 million population wise, while Quebec has closer to 8million people and Alberta is closer to 4million people. Safe to say Alberta produces quality hockey players at similar and better rates but just at a lesser overall concentration? What a cool insight to a video 🙌🏻
BC stands around 5million***
every team that comes into toronto plays harder then when they play anywhere else. no real explanation for it, i toss it up to toronto being the "mecca" of the hockey world and people love to hate em, so nhl teams visiting come in fired up
I wish (and yes, I am careful of what I wish for) that the NHL Board Of Governor's would allow players to be paid "on par" dollars Canadian vs American. This way, the talent loss of Canadian born players / talent would be necessarily drawn to U.S. markets by money increase incentive.
Almost every province has tax credits for film & television, and I think that tax credits for hockey organizations could be possible too. Credits that could be used as additional bonus incentives for signings.
the tax credits are for the organizations THEMSELVES- not for the individual people. A hockey player is not an organization. You don't get tax cuts because you're a camera man in quebec for example, or because you yourself work in video games in montreal. The tax credits go to the company as an entity. If you are being payed salary or hourly, you should pay your taxes. Millionaires should be no exception come on. The USA is suffering in so many ways because of their tax cuts to the rich, it's part a huge issue. let's not start.
the tax credits you find for film and TV is to bring more business into Canada/said province- Canada does not have a problem with Hockey. We are missing cups yes, but our Hockey culture is still alive and well.
Correction hall was born in Calgary
Hall’s from Calgary, but played junior in Ontario… but the point remains 😅
Players are taxed where they play.
41 one of those games are at home.
Other American big markets such as NYC, BOS, LA etc have very similar taxe brackets.
The Canadian market even have an advantage since players are paid in US and live/spend in Canada. The exchange rate is advantageous even before considering the housing situation.
Anyways, if you make 100 M in your career, it is not 20M more over a career that will change anything in your life and your wallet. That’s not how money works.
That’s a poor excuse for Toronto. They can look no further than their bitter rivals of Montreal to see players that took team friendly contracts over the years.
this tax loophole is still a way for the salary cap to not really be parody for all teams equally. needs to change, should be an exception put in or the NHL needs to give Canadian teams more salary cap to compensate.
This man not only defended Trudeau but also said hi biggest strength is affordability and protection from big corporations? I'm trying not to be disrespectful here but do you know anything about the state of Canada's economy? Bro...
Rob, i have a hard time listening to spectators/media/fans calling for players to take less money. Have you ever worked in to your boss and said I love it here, I'll take less money. These players should go for the bag everytime, it doesn't mean they love playing somewhere any less.
One of the worst hockey videos I've ever seen. Trudeau is literally destroying the country. And you're tone deaf to that and chalk it up to what can be done for hockey. Wow. Unsubscribed.
The taxes are an issue and that’s why players don’t wanna play either and Anaheim because it’s so ridiculous for them to pay so much taxes
This just sounds like a bunch of whining to me. Look at the 2010's, Chicago and LA won 5 Stanley Cups in their high taxed States of Illinois and California. GM's of Canadian teams need to do a better job with the cap.
Also, Canadian players have a ton of tax write offs, and can lower their taxes.
I wish there was a way to make to politicians in Canada listen to the tax segment of this video!
I've always thought this. Players play harder against Toronto.
The Habs have a similar problem when they play Matthews in the regular season. But yeah, that ends come playoff time.
This video just proves leafs have bad defence and goaltending.
... OR the NHL can just adjust the cap for teams under higher tax situations. Players get paid, countries get their taxes, but a handful of billionaire owners might lose a few bucks so that's not happening.
That's assuming they don't have good accountants that know how to reduce their tax payments.
The massive problem is they are the leafs.
can tell this guy is in Calgary. the Alberta angle is stupid. rich people need to pay taxes
Can't believe lots of people are making the argument that Marner has to go. he is a great player.
I agree. But this has to do with the salary cap and the trade off of having several massive contracts vs. depth
Should’ve incorporated probability of them making the playoffs in that comparison…
For sure, but it is very hard to say given that eliminated provincial tax would create different results
Hot take about the Toronto effect: Toronto D is bad.
The difference maker for tavares was probably the fact islanders players pay some of the highest property taxes in the country 2.30% in nassau county
The Leafs have a MASSIVE problem. Yes, competent goaltending and defense lol. I'd be curious to see if this translates to Ottawa as well, considering it's also in ON.
Who out of JT and Little Mitchy are willing to take a hometown discount for the betterment of the team next year. That is the 11 million dollar question 😅
Im a wings fan but i am a Canadian i was cheering my butt off for Edmonton im 25 ive never seen a Canadian team win a cup and McDavid is the best player in the world i was heartbroken when they lost that game 7 also i dont know what you are talking about the grocery prices are through the roof as is everything else the inflation in this country is insane right now brother our cost of living is ridiculous right now but great video as always
Not tax exempt but payed as a contractor where you auto de lare.
Have teams hire personal accountants to lower how much they pay in taxes
What would u like the Canadian gov to do. Give millionaires a tax break while the average person pays full taxes? You’d like them to address it, than what do u propose?
the trudeau effect? embarrassing. taxes have always been high. gtfo they mention provincial tax rates. jfc. canada spends on hockey. stop
This is so true. Best explanation I’ve ever heard.
I wish league adjusted salary cap based on taxes. The government is not going to stop collecting and wasting money. There are a lot of new arrivals who depend on it.
Seems to be the fairest way to do so as not to give such a large competitive advantage for so many American teams. But it’s seems the NHL isn’t interested in a level playing field.