Every NBA Star Pays a Michael Jordan Tax to This Day Which Was Started for a Lakers Revenge in 1991

NBA legend Michael Jordan has won six rings during his career. However, none so sweeter than his first-ever title. But it was not easy and did not happen overnight. Despite showing dominance ever since he stepped into the league, His Airness could not convert it into team success initially. Also, he did not have enough support as well. So he had to bide his time and continue his upward trajectory of individual abilities. But he knew he can’t wait forever, and he had to win titles to be considered as great as legends Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and others.

The pieces to the puzzle fell into place one after another. Two of the most important pieces were Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and legendary head coach Phil Jackson. With the philosophy of Jackson helping Jordan and the team, the Chicago Bulls finally beat the Detroit Pistons in the Conference finals. The Bad Boys were a huge roadblock for the Bulls beating them in the playoffs for three straight years.

Finally, the Bulls had their revenge on the Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals as they swept them. With this, MJ reached his first-ever finals to face Magic Johnson and the time-tested Los Angeles Lakers. It was MJ vs. MJ in the 1991 NBA finals and there was a huge hype as the young superstar faced a living legend. Magic and the Lakers took care of game 1. However, Michael Jordan took over and helped the Bulls win the next four games straight to clinch the title.

And with this Jordan laid his hand on the trophy for the first time. Fans of LA were understandably not happy. As per reports, Jordan’s win is the reason behind the Jock Tax. According to Joseph Pompliano, the Jock Tax was allegedly implemented as a revenge tactic after Jordan and the Bulls defeated Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the 1991 Finals. Based on the events that led up to the implementation of the tax, the City of Los Angeles called Jordan’s accountant to reveal they were implementing a non-resident income tax on visiting athletes.

Even though he did not live in LA, he had to pay taxes in the state. In direct response to this policy, Illinois passed a bill famously known as “Michael Jordan’s revenge.” This imposed income taxes on athletes from California and any other state that imposed a tax on their residents. Now, almost every state that has a professional sports team has enacted a similar tax policy. So a professional athlete playing in the NBA, NFL, and MLB has to file 15 to 20 tax returns per year.

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