from Glen McGregor of the Ottawa Citizen,

The incoming Liberal government’s plan to raise the tax rate on high-income earners could make it harder for professional sports teams in Canada to sign star players.

Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau has promised to raise the top marginal federal tax rate to 33 per cent, up from the current 29 per cent, on income above $200,000 – a tax bracket that every player with Canada’s seven National Hockey League teams and Toronto Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays falls into.

Combined with provincial taxes, a higher federal rate makes Quebec one of the highest tax jurisdictions with a professional sports teams in North America, adversely affecting players with the Montreal Canadiens – but Ontario is close behind.

The federal tax hike will also dissipate the advantage previously held by the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, where lower provincial taxes rates gave them a competitive advantage recruiting star players, even against some U.S. teams.

The local rate of taxation is one of many factors that players looking to sign take into account, says hockey agent Rand Simon of Toronto-based Newport Sports Management Inc.

The quality of the team and its players and coaches, the city, the terms of the contract and economic issues such as local taxes all factor into signing decisions for unrestricted free agents, Simon says.

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thanks to a recent tweet from Arthur Staple for the heads-up