What Is The NBA Tax Apron?
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The NBA has a so-called “tax apron” that triggers additional taxes for teams that exceed it. Here’s an explanation of how it works.
What is the NBA Tax Apron?
In short, the NBA tax apron is the line that a team cannot cross in terms of its total payroll without triggering a luxury tax bill. The apron for the 2019-20 season is set at $132.627 million, up from $123.733 million the previous season.
Any team whose total payroll exceeds that figure will be required to pay a luxury tax to the league. The amount of the tax bill is based on a graduated scale, with teams that are further above the apron paying increasingly more.
For example, a team with a payroll of $140 million would owe $3.37 million in taxes, while a team with a payroll of $200 million would owe $29.63 million.
The NBA’s luxury tax is intended to discourage teams from spending excessively on player salaries, and it has generally been successful in achieving that goal. In recent years, only a handful of teams have been willing to pay the tax, and most of them have been perennial contenders who were able to make deep runs in the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one notable exception; they have paid the luxury tax in each of the last six seasons and are currently on track to do so again for 2019-20. However, even the Lakers seem to be feeling the pinch this season, as they have made several trades that were motivated at least partially by concerns about their future tax bills.
How does the NBA Tax Apron work?
The NBA has a soft salary cap, which means that there is a limit to how much a team can spend on salaries, but there are ways to exceed that limit. One of those ways is called the Tax Apron, and it exists to prevent teams from going too far over the salary cap and getting an unfair advantage.
The Tax Apron is essentially an extension of the salary cap. It’s a hard cap, meaning that teams cannot exceed it no matter what. The Tax Apron is set at $6 million above the salary cap, which means that teams can spend up to $6 million more than the salary cap without paying any penalties.
However, if a team does go over the Tax Apron, they will have to pay a luxury tax. The luxury tax is a penalty that is assessed on teams that spend over a certain amount on salaries. The amount of the luxury tax increases as the amount of money spent on salaries increases. For example, if a team spends $15 million over the Tax Apron, they will have to pay a luxury tax of $3 million.
The purpose of the Tax Apron is to keep teams from spending too much money on salaries and getting an unfair advantage over their opponents. It also helps to ensure that teams are able to compete for championships without resorting to excessive spending.
What are the benefits of the NBA Tax Apron?
The NBA Tax Apron is a term that is used to describe the luxury tax that is placed on teams that have a high payroll. This tax can be as much as 50% of the team’s total payroll, and it is designed to discourage teams from spending too much money on players’ salaries.
The luxury tax was first introduced in the NBA in 2003, and it has been revised several times since then. The most recent revision was in 2017, when the tax threshold was raised from $84 million to $119 million. The tax aprons for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons are $123 million and $132 million, respectively.
Teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold must pay a penalty for each dollar that they are over the threshold. For example, if a team has a payroll of $130 million, they would owe a luxury tax of $7 million (5% of $130 million).
The revenue generated by the luxury tax is used to fund revenue sharing among all 30 NBA teams. This helps to level the playing field somewhat, and it gives small-market teams a chance to compete with larger-market teams.
The NBA Tax Apron has been criticized by some fans and commentators, who argue that it prevents teams from spending enough money on players’ salaries. However, others believe that it is necessary in order to keep player salaries under control and to ensure that revenues are distributed fairly throughout the league.
How can the NBA Tax Apron be used to save money on taxes?
The NBA Tax Apron is a way for teams to save money on taxes. By using the NBA Tax Apron, teams can avoid paying taxes on players’ salaries above a certain amount. This can be a significant savings for teams, especially those with high-paid players. The NBA Tax Apron is also known as the “soft salary cap.”
What are the drawbacks of the NBA Tax Apron?
In addition to the general restrictions placed on clubs by the NBA Tax Apron, there are a number of specific drawbacks that make it difficult for clubs to operate within the Apron. First, the Apron severely limits the amount of money that clubs can spend on player salaries. This makes it difficult to attract and retain top talent, as well as to improve the quality of play overall. In addition, the Apron also limits the amount of money that clubs can spend on luxury taxes. This means that clubs have to be very careful about how they allocate their resources, and it can make it difficult to field a competitive team. Finally, the Apron also makes it difficult for small-market teams to compete with larger-market teams. This is because small-market teams have less revenue, and therefore have less money to spend on player salaries and luxury taxes.