Yahoo Sports NC lawmaker on keeping NASCAR tax break: 'NASCAR is one of the biggest concerns that we’ve got'
Lawmakers in North Carolina want to keep a tax break for NASCAR in effect.
The North Carolina House and Senate is working on passing a tax bill that includes some business-related tax provisions. One of those provisions is a sales tax exemption for NASCAR in the Charlotte area. The Charlotte metro area is the hub for NASCAR teams.
Per the Raleigh News & Observer, the sales tax break saves those in and around NASCAR $3 million a year. One of the sponsors of the tax bill, Sen. Jerry Tillman (R), says that keeping the NASCAR provision in the tax bill is imperative.
From the News & Observer:
“NASCAR is one of the biggest concerns that we’ve got,” Tillman said. “Many of those teams are struggling now to make it. We think we need to do what we can for those folks.”
Yikes. When state legislators are using words like “struggling” just to keep a $3 million tax benefit in place you know things aren’t very rosy.
Some NASCAR teams are struggling to keep and attract sponsors as competitively racing on purse money from races is virtually impossible. Other teams like Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports aren’t swimming in sponsorship either. But they have an advantage because they can offer business-to-business benefits that other teams can’t.
Tillman’s comments that some in NASCAR are struggling came a day before the Smith family’s revelation that it wanted to buy back shares of the company held by non-family members. In the letter to the company’s board of directors, the Smith family said NASCAR has “has faced several challenges in recent years” and “NASCAR has indicated the sport would benefit from structural change.”
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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