While Spain hosted the trophy, the federal government appeared to be the World Cup’s big winner as lawmakers sounded off, “We’ve gotta get a better tax system.”
(Video Credit: Fox News Digital)
Spain’s victory over Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup included a roughly $50 million price paid to the Royal Spanish Football Federation. While the players who achieved victory are still set to get sizable cuts, the largest take likely goes to the IRS in what Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett (R) dubbed a “rip-off.”
As estimates project that as much as 30% of earnings could be subject to federal taxation — not to mention the taxes imposed by the visiting players’ home nations, the congressman told Fox News Digital, “I’m not a fan of it, but Americans have to do it. American professional athletes do it, so they knew that when they came over here.”
“I think it’s a rip-off,” he argued, as, barring exceptions like a tax treaty, nonresident foreign athletes are subject to the American tax code.
Disfavor for the tax burden bridged the congressional aisle as Illinois Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D) likewise told the outlet, “It’s wrong, and that kind of highlights something bigger.”
Of course, rather than simply oppose the confiscation of earnings, the lawmaker went on to spin it as a tax-the-rich argument, contending corporations “should be paying the taxes as opposed to having tax loopholes. The people, the laborers that are working, they should not have to pay 30% of their income on taxes.”
Whether they advanced through the tournament or not, participants in the World Cup were awarded some portion of a total pool of $871 million.
Countering arguments against the taxation, though a number was not shared regarding the cost to taxpayers, FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the massive scope of the security measures for the dozens of matches that were played in the U.S., remarking to Fox News Digital, “And as the president of FIFA, Gianna Infantino said, that’s 78 Super Bowls in 38 days. And that’s what we executed on. We had 5,000 personnel from the FBI, over 4,000 from the field, 800 from Headquarters, and we had our 59 Homeland Security Task Forces, which were set up by President Trump in the beginning of the administration.”
🇺🇸 The FBI says securing the 2026 FIFA World Cup was like “78 Super Bowls in 38 days,” and the numbers behind the operation are staggering.
Nearly 5,000 FBI personnel deployed across 11 venues, 300,000 background checks conducted, 6.5 million fans attending 78 matches, and over… pic.twitter.com/XqBIwTQu0p
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 20, 2026
Speaking more broadly on the subject of America’s current tax system and what it means for future international events, Burchett expressed, “I’m not a big fan of the IRS. They made that money over here, I guess, but I don’t like all that. We want to encourage these people to come over here and spend their money, and then we take a big chunk of it.”
A proponent of overhauling the IRS, the congressman further told the outlet, “We’ve gotta get a better tax system.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.