ST. LOUIS — St. Louis' earnings tax is back in the news, as thousands of workers in the city expect to get a refund check.
The city recently settled a lawsuit regarding how the earnings tax applies to remote workers who live outside the city, but whose employers are based within the city. The settlement includes a refund process, which started July 1.
The news made 5 On Your Side viewer Ray Fetsch from Maryland Heights ask whether some of the highest-paid people working in the city, Cardinals, Blues, and City SC players, were paying the tax.
We dug into the facts to VERIFY.
The question
Do Cardinals, Blues, and City SC players pay St. Louis' earnings tax?
Our sources
- Gregg Daly, Collector of Revenue for St. Louis City
- The Cardinals
- The Blues
- City SC
The answer
Yes, St. Louis athletes must pay the city's earnings tax. But, the tax only applies for home games.
What we found
Let's go over earnings tax basics:
- St. Louis City residents pay a 1% earnings tax and the lawsuit doesn’t affect them.
- People who live outside St. Louis, but whose employer is based in the city, must also pay the 1% earnings tax.
- The recent lawsuit settlement said remote workers during the pandemic are entitled to get that money back for 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The Cardinals, Blues and City SC teams are all based within St. Louis City limits, so professional athletes on the teams must pay the 1% earnings tax ... most of the time.
St. Louis City Collector of Revenue Gregg Daly told 5 On Your Side when the teams are on the road, the athletes do not have to pay the earnings tax. For instance, when the Cardinals are in Jupiter, Florida. they do not have to pay the earnings tax.
That exception doesn't just apply to athletes in the city; it applies to every worker. It's been a long-standing policy that non-city residents whose business sends them out of town for work can file paperwork with the city to be exempt from paying the earnings tax.
Additionally, every sports team that plays in St. Louis must also pay the earnings tax.
We can VERIFY: Yes, professional athletes pay the City of St. Louis 1% earnings tax, except when working out of town.
VERIFY
Do you have a question you want us to VERIFY? Email verify@ksdk.com with your claim.
Craving more VERIFY? See every St. Louis-area claim we've looked into below.