Tax For Soccer

It’s not soccer players or fans that will be taxed to pay for the Major League Soccer stadium in Chester, but the visitors who patronize bed and breakfasts or hotels in the county.

Delaware county officials in 2008 put local taxpayers on the hook for nearly $30 million (on top of the $47 million Gov. Rendell pledged) to finance the Major League Soccer stadium.

A year after the Delaware County Council then-Vice Chairman promised residents the soccer stadium would be “entirely covered by restricted gaming funds,” the council has announced a hotel-occupancy tax increase to pay for it. Needless to say, local hotel owners aren’t happy their customers are required to contribute to the stadium.

The simple fact is that government-supported stadiums are a great deal for sports teams but not for taxpayers. While lawmakers promise the stadiums will foster economic growth, countless studies show otherwise. If legislators really want to stimulate the economy they should reduce the tax and regulatory burdens on job creators and not waste taxpayer dollars to help millionaires build and keep sports stadiums.