House duo praise NFL for waiving tax-exempt status

After the National Football League said on Tuesday that it would voluntarily waive its tax-exempt status and file tax returns starting for fiscal year 2015, U.S. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) issued a joint statement in support of the move.

“We are extremely pleased with the decision from the NFL to waive its tax-exempt status,” the duo said. “Congress has tried to tackle this issue before, but we made it one of the committee’s signature efforts this year. It is rewarding to see such an important and positive step toward restoring basic fairness so quickly into our tenure.”

Chaffetz and Cummings, the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, submitted letters earlier this year addressed to the heads of several professional sports leagues, requesting data regarding each organization’s tax-exempt status. Chaffetz also was involved in presenting legislation earlier this year that would essentially eliminate the 501 (c)(6) tax exemption for professional sports organizations with annual revenues in excess of $10 million.

“We hope that the other professional sports organizations in similar situations will follow the positive example set by the NFL and pay their taxes just as everyone else is required to do,” the congressmen said. “We thank the NFL for their leadership and look forward to rightfully returning millions of dollars to the federal treasury as a result.”