According to today’s Wall Street Journal, an ad-hoc panel of 12 tax law professors “mostly agreed” that Coach Bill Belichick will be able to deduct his fine from his income taxes. The primarily rationale: Technically, the NFL found that he was guilty of breaking a rule, not cheating.
This distinction might also explain why there was no talk of a forfeit: A forfeit might be an appropriate punishment for cheating, but not for breaking a rule. (more…)