Canadiens forward reveals why nobody wants to play in Montreal
Montreal is undeniably a great city with one of the best arenas in the NHL. However, Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta has revealed why players are reluctant to play there.
Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta recently appeared on a hockey podcast where he discussed the challenges of playing in a Canadian market, especially regarding taxes.
NHL players sacrifice a significant portion of their salaries to taxes, but these taxes vary by location. For example, players in Vancouver face much higher taxes than those in Florida, which has no state income tax. This means that while Victor Hedman only pays U.S. federal taxes, Elias Pettersson pays both Canadian federal and British Columbia provincial taxes.
Montreal is considered one of the toughest places to play due to its high taxes. Quebec has the highest provincial tax rate in Canada, with 25.75% of all income over 126,000 CAD going to the provincial government. In comparison, California, known for its high taxes, has a top tax rate of 12.3%, which only applies to incomes just under 700,000 USD.
@CamandStrick #GohabsGo
He pointed out that 54% of his income was withheld when he received his first NHL paychecks. This high tax rate is due to the combination of Quebec's provincial tax and the Canadian federal tax, resulting in an effective tax rate of just over 54% for most NHL players in Montreal. However, escrow, the money the NHL withholds from players, is not considered taxable income. This means the 14% mentioned by Pezzetta would slightly lower his effective tax rate since any money in escrow is not taxed. Additionally, the escrow rate changes yearly and has been declining as the league recovers from the Covid shutdown period.
While taxes vary significantly, it doesn't prevent teams in high-tax markets from competing. For example, the San Jose Sharks were one of the best teams in the league before their recent rebuild. Interestingly, three of the last five Stanley Cup champions have come from Florida, where there are no state taxes.
Credit: markerzoneMontreal Canadiens forward exposes the NHL's bias against Canadian teams
| POLL | ||
24 JUILLET | 166 ANSWERS Canadiens forward reveals why nobody wants to play in Montreal Do you think NHL players avoid playing in Canada strictly because of taxes? | ||
| Yes | 132 | 79.5 % |
| No | 34 | 20.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
