The Ohio Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to suspend its decision to strike down Cleveland’s “jock tax” while the city appeals to the United States Supreme Court.
Cleveland is one of eight cities that have implemented a so-called “jock tax,” which is an income tax levied on NFL players visiting the city for a road game. The decision to strike down the tax comes as a result of two lawsuits brought by former Indianapolis Colt Jeff Saturday and former Chicago Bear Hunter Hillenmeyer.
While the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the income tax itself, it struck down the method Cleveland uses to measure the tax. Cleveland uses what is called a “games-played” method to determine the player’s taxable income. Under this method, a player’s taxable income is 1/20th of their total income, because one game is played in Cleveland out of the 20 games played during the season.
The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the games-played method as a violation of the Due Process Clause, reasoning that a NFL’s player’s employment consists of more than just games played. Additionally, the court held that Cleveland may not levy the tax upon a player that is not present at the game, even if the player is on the team’s roster. As result of this decision, Cleveland will owe thousands to both Saturday and Hillenmeyer.
The court has now granted Cleveland’s request to stay the decision, however, while the city appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. The city argues that the appeal is necessary considering the possible effect of the decision on other cities using jock taxes.