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Michael Pezzetta: the sight of him complaining about taxes in Quebec does not make everyone happy

 Andrew Taylor
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Michael Pezzetta: the sight of him complaining about taxes in Quebec does not make everyone happy
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
Michael Pezzetta has been rolling with the Habs for three years now. The forward, whose main role is to bring energy to the fourth line, has won the hearts of many fans for his attitude and hustle.

He’s not the kind of guy who will back down from a challenge, whether it’s a fight or a powerful shot he has to block in a short-handed situation.

And earlier today, the Pezz was on the Cam and Strick Podcast, a U.S.-based hockey podcast. He talked about a number of topics, but there’s one clip that’s getting a lot of attention right now.

In fact, it’s a discussion about Montreal’s tax rate that’s at the heart of it all. The Habs striker is asked what he thinks about it, and his answer isn’t unanimous:

It’s pretty crazy. We’re taxed at 54%, plus the 4%escrow to agents. – Michael Pezzetta

In fact, it’s not really the player’s comments that are causing a stir. It’s the fact that the comments come from Pezzetta, who earns a much higher annual salary than the average Quebecer.

It’s a bit “out of touch”, according to some.

According to PuckPedia, Pezzetta has earned just over $5.3 million since the start of his career. You should also consider that his salary is in U.S. dollars, not Canadian dollars.

And here again, it’s questionable how much of his salary he actually pays in taxes (54%). Most of the time, players (and, more importantly, their agents) manage to find ways to pay less in taxes.

That said, Pezzetta’s comments demonstrate that Barry Trotz is right to talk about the advantage of markets with lower or no tax rates. And with the John Tavares tax saga in the news, it just goes to show that the subject is still a hot topic in the hockey world… especially as Canadian teams could soon be at an even greater disadvantage.


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