Tax ‘em!
The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) is examining the possibility of triggering a constitution-backed five per cent tax on elite professional athletes to aid its welfare and development programme.
Though such a move is expected to be an unpopular one among the island’s top track and field stars, noted athletics manager and agent Cubie Seegobin and highly regarded coach Maurice Wilson both believe that consideration should be given to the implementation of a cess programme.
Respected attorney Lincoln Eatmon, second vice-president at the JAAA, told the Jamaica Observer that it is the right time to explore the idea while examining the potential benefits, challenges, and framework.
“This has been a hot topic over the years because in fact there is provision for a cess that has just never been enforced. The decision was taken by the JAAA over the years not to enforce this cess because a lot of the athletes were not earning a lot,” said Eatmon, in an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer.
“It’s a different situation now. Some [athletes] do [earn a lot] but the majority of them really don’t; they just manage to get by. So, it’s something we would have to review to see whether it makes sense to enforce the provision for the cess, but the rules do provide process,” Eatmon added.
The tax would be deducted from prize money and would be used to fund programmes geared towards providing opportunities for up-and-coming local athletes.
“When you look at the athletes, you can probably count them on your two hands those who are earning enough. So you have to make up your mind: Do you enforce it against everybody or do you have a cap or a threshold, really, where, if you earn prize money over a certain level, that you should pay the cess. This is something that has to be discussed,” Eatmon added.
Wilson believes the levy is necessary and could prove beneficial under the right structure. He underlined the role of the JAAA in the development of athletes and says it’s important that the island’s top competitors understand their role in giving back directly to the sport.
“If someone is making $20,000 a year you would not want to charge them a cess. But if you’re making $2 million for the year, of course, you should pay something to that organisation that would have contributed to your development,” Wilson said.
“One of the issues that we’re having is athletes do not understand or recognise the investment that would have been made, not only through the JAAA but by the taxpayers of this country. When they go to Carifta, when they go to all these other games, somebody would have invested in them before they had money and when they had no resources to lean on, there were camps leading up to the Olympics and the World Championships. That was before they became celebrities and started making money, so some amount of investment had to be done,” added Wilson.
“Forget about what these athletes are going to say because you know what, making them understand the importance of paying that cess filters all the way down to giving back, because it was that same voluntarism that brought them to that stage.”
Seegobin, who has represented some of the island’s top athletes and who works closely with adidas-affiliated clubs Racers and Sprintec, believes it is important for athletes to contribute to the development of the sport and help others to gain opportunities, but does not expect any attempt by the JAAA to impose a levy to be met with support from the athletes who would be affected.
“The JAAA will have hell getting anything that Lincoln [Eatmon] tries to institute of giving a percentage of their money; they’ll have a lawyer at the JAAA’s door saying they want their five per cent back. We try this all the time [at the club level] and we have to pull teeth to do it,” said Seegobin.
“A lot of money is invested in them when they have no money and when they make money, they feel that they’re entitled to not give back. So how is Sprintec going to be able to operate, or Racers? They have sponsors but, yeah, that money that comes from the sponsors, we take an athlete that doesn’t have a contract and support them. Okay, and then when they make the big money and you say okay, give back five per cent to the club to help another young athlete, no they don’t want to do it. If we call names you will be shocked by the way they behave,” Seegobin added.
“With the JAAA I know what they can and what they can’t do and they can’t get that five per cent from any athlete, because trust me, they’ll have a lawyer at the door saying they are entitled to the money regardless of Lincoln says that’s in the charter,” Seegobin added.