Flag Thrown on Steelers’ Tax Payment Claims

Should Pittsburgh’s three professional sports teams be making voluntary payments to help the City with its financial problems? That’s the argument made by the most recent audit of the City Controller’s office. The sports teams occupy a unique position in that they are for-profit businesses that operate in facilities owned by a government agency and do not pay property taxes, either directly or through their rent payments, as do other for- profit businesses in Pittsburgh. Indeed, even non-profit groups renting commercial space are paying property taxes through their rent. Continue