Gary Bettman Breaks His Silence on Benefits for No-Tax States
The issue of no state taxes for teams in the NHL has been a hot button issue in recent times, and now Gary Bettman has broken his silence on them.
Since 2019, five of the six Stanley Cup Champions have come from states with no state tax, and for the most part, it was never really a conversation until recently.
Then, the Florida Panthers went back-to-back with GM Bill Zito working his magic to bring in players that many expected they couldn't afford, and it raised plenty of questions around the league.
Gary Bettman Addresses No-Tax Advantages
Simply put, a team in Vegas, Florida or Texas can pay someone much, much less against the salary cap while giving them more take home pay that a team beyond those places, and given that, it's easy to see why it's an advantage.
That was something that Commissioner Gary Bettman admitted, however he stated it was only an advantage if all other things were equal, but like he mentions, all other things are never equal.
"At the end of the day, yes, [state taxes] can be a factor if everything else is equal, but everything else is never equal."
The thing that isn't equal right now is the dominance of Florida teams, with the Panthers and Lightning both winning two Cups in the past decade, and as a result, they've got another bargaining chip beyond the no-state tax incentive.
What this sounds like is the NHL will not address this situation in any way, as Bettman seems to believe that this isn't the only reason that teams like the Panthers continue to land players for much less than their perceived value.
Ultimately, it's been known for a few years now that these teams have some type of an advantage, but with Bettman's comments, things are going to continue on this way, meaning that Florida's dominance may also continue moving forward.
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