John Tavares’ future with Maple Leafs in doubt following latest update!
You had to know it was coming… right?
This summer hasn’t been the best for veteran forward John Tavares. Not only was he stripped of the Maple Leafs’ captaincy when Auston Matthews took over the C in Toronto, but he’s also been dealing with a lawsuit off the ice. Reports recently emerged that Tavares is in a $15.25 million legal battle with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), an amount that Tavares himself argues. The CRA contends that Tavares received $15.25 million in signing bonus and it wants it back, but Tavares maintains that a provision in his contract entitles him to millions in tax savings. The former Leafs’ captain claims that they taxed him incorrectly back in 2018 when he first signed with the Leafs after spending nine years in the United States with the New York Islanders.
Tavares believes that when he signed in Toronto, the major bonus he landed would be taxed at a much lower rate, one that Tavares thought would be the 15% rate should be used on his signing bonus, rather than over 50% like it has been.
MarkerZone believes that depending on the legal battle’s outcome and the fact that Tavares is no longer captain and is entering the last year of his current deal, he may be done for good with the Maple Leafs.
If John Tavares wins the legal dispute, he could walk away with $8 million and a legal victory that could set a precedent for future NHL players living in Canada. But if the courts rules against him, and they already have once, he will owe $6.8 million in back taxes plus interest and may want to bail on Toronto and play the last years of his career in a state with lower taxes, like in Florida or in Texas.
I’m not sure if that’s what the Maple Leafs are actively trying to do, but with everything going on with the CRA and the legal battle, they could have taken it easy on Tavares and left him be the captain for what looks to be his last year in Toronto.
