<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Milwaukee Brewers paid a total of $565,678 in state taxes in 2004, according to the state Department of Revenue. The Brewers paid no income tax in 2002 and 2003, a result of losses from previous years. By comparison, the Milwaukee Bucks paid a total of $1,642 in the same tax year. As a so-called "S" corporation, the Bucks are organized differently than the Brewers, and the tax paid represents tax on interest income, a Bucks official said. Under state law, the Green Bay Packers do not have to pay state income taxes. The organization has been exempt from paying state income taxes since 1923. The Packers are a publicly owned, non-profit corporation. Under state law, the amount of tax paid by a corporation or an individual in a given tax year is a matter of public record. The Journal Sentinel requested the amount each franchise paid in the tax years 2004 and 2005. There were no tax records available for either the Brewers or the Bucks for 2005 (fiscal year 2006) because a tax return had not yet been filed. The amount the Brewers paid in 2004 represents the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2005. For the Bucks, the amount of tax paid represents the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. Brewers vice president Tyler Barnes acknowledged the team earned a profit in recent years, but said the amount of tax paid is the result of several factors, not just profitability. Mark Attanasio, the Brewers' principal owner, bought the team for $223 million and took the team over in January 2005. The team reported a net profit in 2002 of $6.7 million, but sustained losses in the years leading up to the transfer of the team to Attanasio. As with most pro sports franchises, the Brewers do not disclose profit-and-loss statements. However, Attanasio has indicated that the team has made a profit in the two years he has been principal owner. Team officials have said that franchise profits have been put back into the operation. The Bucks, on the other hand, exist as an "S" corporation that is granted a special tax status under Internal Revenue Service codes. An "S" corporation pays no income taxes and, generally, all gains and losses pass through individual shareholders. In the case of the Bucks, that would be U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), the team's sole owner.</div> Source
