Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Yes.
Wisconsin taxes professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer athletes who don’t live in Wisconsin for the income they receive when their team plays in Wisconsin.
Here’s how much Major League Baseball players and team staff paid annually over the past decade, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue:
2013: $8,094,480
2014: $8,946,881
2015: $9,205,109
2016: $7,806,279
2017: $8,864,843
2018: $11,993,591
2019: $12,324,597
2020: $5,005,837
2021: $10,526,234
2022: $12,385,257
The Milwaukee Brewers baseball team says American Family Field, where it plays, needs $448 million in renovations.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature are considering whether to commit taxpayer money toward the renovations.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said in May 2023 that he is open to using the tax revenue received from visiting baseball players toward the renovations.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin State Legislature Tax 2.31: Compensation received by nonresident members of professional athletic teams (page 11).
DocumentCloud MLB income tax withholdings email
FOX6 News Milwaukee | Wisconsin & Local Milwaukee News WITI American Family Field repairs; MLB commissioner to visit Thursday
DocumentCloud A plan to spend $448 million on AmFam Field remains in flux. Here’s what you need to know.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
