Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, a rare hitter-pitcher, could have signed with the New York Yankees or Toronto Blue Jays but opted for a record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans might think Ohtani’s choice to stay in California would delight state officials, but that is not the case.
To give his team more flexibility with other players, Ohtani deferred all but $2 million of his annual $70 million salary. That fell afoul of California’s State Controller Malia Cohen.
“The current tax system allows for unlimited deferrals for those fortunate enough to be in the highest tax brackets, creating a significant imbalance in the tax structure,” Cohen contends.
“The absence of reasonable caps on deferral for the wealthiest individuals exacerbates income inequality and hinders the fair distribution of taxes. I would urge Congress to take immediate and decisive action to rectify........