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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(114,965 posts)
Fri Dec 15, 2023, 07:53 PM Dec 2023

Shohei Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers could come with bonus of mostly avoiding California taxes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — If $700 million wasn’t enough, Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers could also include a bonus: skipping most of California’s famously high income taxes.

Not even the mighty Dodgers have the power to exempt Ohtani from paying his taxes. But they and the player can control when Ohtani gets paid. The Dodgers will pay Ohtani $20 million over the next decade, when the baseball star will be hitting and, health permitting, pitching for the National League powerhouse.

It’s the decade after that when the Dodgers will really start to pay Ohtani — $68 million per year from 2034-43. Ohtani will turn 40 in 2034, an age when most Major League Baseball players have retired. By then, Ohtani could stop playing baseball and choose not to live in California, potentially avoiding for the bulk of his salary the state’s 13.3% income tax and 1.1% payroll tax for State Disability Insurance.

With 97% of Ohtani’s Dodgers income deferred, it means California — where there is an estimated $68 billion budget deficit this year — will have to wait at least a decade before it can collect taxes on the bulk of his salary, if it can collect at all. California could collect taxes from Ohtani’s significant endorsement deals, assuming Ohtani is a California resident.

https://apnews.com/article/shohei-ohtani-taxes-california-budget-deficit-7c9b5752d7734908853db407f7441a1f

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Shohei Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers could come with bonus of mostly avoiding California taxes (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 2023 OP
He certainly is free to live anywhere he chooses. madaboutharry Dec 2023 #1
Rudy Giuliani just called Shohei. Wants to borrow a few million rurallib Dec 2023 #2
But can he hit a fastball? WestMichRad Dec 2023 #3
What If He Goes Back To Japan? ProfessorGAC Dec 2023 #4

madaboutharry

(41,317 posts)
1. He certainly is free to live anywhere he chooses.
Fri Dec 15, 2023, 08:00 PM
Dec 2023

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming are states without a state income tax.

He might not want to move back to Japan since taxes are higher than in the U.S.

ProfessorGAC

(69,745 posts)
4. What If He Goes Back To Japan?
Sat Dec 16, 2023, 06:30 PM
Dec 2023

Japan has a flat tax rate of 10% for almost every region or municipality.
So he may be avoiding California income taxes, but I don't think he's avoiding paying taxes.

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