Congressman asks pro sports leagues about their tax-exempt status

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz has sent a letter to the NFL and nine other professional sports organizations seeking information about their tax-exempt status, his office said on Thursday. Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, recently introduced legislation to eliminate tax-exempt status for professional leagues with revenues exceeding $10 million. The letters, sent Wednesday night, asked questions such as what the tax liability would be if the organization did not receive the exemption, and if it ever considered voluntarily abandoning it. Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code lists "professional football leagues" as deserving of tax-exempt status, a remnant of legislative wrangling that helped the NFL and its rival, the American Football League, merge in 1966. Chaffetz said recently he would like to have NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testify before Congress on the tax-exemption enjoyed by the nation's most popular league. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the 10-year cost to the taxpayer of the National Football League exemption is about $109 million. Among those organizations also getting tax-exempt status - and receiving the letter from Chaffetz - were the National Hockey League, the Professional Golfers Association of America, and the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. The National Basketball Association never sought tax-exempt status, while Major League Baseball in 2008 opted to do away with its exemption. (Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Bill Trott)