By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati's "jock tax" brought in a better-than-expected $925,827 in its first year, by taxing visiting athletes and entertainers.

The "jock tax" applies the city's 2.1 percent income tax rate to visiting athletes and performers who work in Cincinnati fewer than 12 days a year. In 2003, the city collected $609,870 from athletes and $315,957 from performers, Cincinnati's tax commissioner said. That's 23 percent more than projected when City Council passed the tax by a 6-3 vote.

Democratic Councilman David Pepper championed the new tax in 2002 as a way to help close an estimated $35 million budget deficit. He said "closing the jock loophole" was a big part of the reason why overall income tax revenues were up $4.9 million - or 2.6 percent - over 2002.

The jock tax makes up 0.5 percent the city's annual income tax collections.

"That's no small amount of money," Pepper said. "It either allowed us to keep curbside recycling or something else we would have had to get rid of."

Tax Commissioner Teresa M. Richter said Monday that confidentiality laws prohibit her from disclosing who's paying those taxes, but Pepper suspects that the Reds' series with the New York Yankees - their first appearance here since the 1976 World Series - may have helped.

With an annual team payroll of $180 million, the Yankees' tax bill would have been $70,000 for the series.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com