Tax Loophole for the Football Coach’s Salary? Not Anymore.

The sweeping, 1,000-page tax reform bill rammed through Congress in December slashes corporate taxes and rewards the rich. But not every affluent person wins.

One group that got coal in its collective stocking was the rarefied set of nonprofit leaders who get paid more than $1 million a year.

In Oregon, that means college football coaches, hospital executives and the officials who run the state's largest credit union.

Starting in 2018, their employers will have to pay a 21 percent excise tax on the amount each employee (up to a total of five per organization) earns in excess of $1 million.

Jody Wiser of Tax Fairness Oregon says the new provision brings nonprofits into line with for-profit corporations, which cannot deduct executive compensation of more than $1 million as a business expense.

"It seems perfectly fair to me," Wiser says. "Football coaches and hospital administrators shouldn't be paid more than a million dollars anyway, and if they are, the public certainly shouldn't be subsidizing it."

Here are some Oregonians likely to be affected by the new tax:

Oregon Ducks football coach Mario Cristobal: Cristobal recently signed a contract with base compensation of $2.5 million.

The University of Oregon's tax on that amount: $315,000, or enough to pay tuition, room and board for about 12 students.

Oregon State Beavers football coach Jonathan Smith: Like Cristobal, Smith is brand-new. He's slightly cheaper at $1.9 million.

The tax on his salary, $189,000 could buy new 12-inch MacBooks for 142 students.

OnPoint Community Credit Union: Credit unions don't pay taxes, but some pay their executives handsomely. OnPoint paid CEO Robert Stuart $2.35 million, according to its most recent tax return. It also paid three other executives well over $1.5 million.

The tax on Stuart's pay: $283,500, enough to buy 28 top-of-the line ATMs.

Oregon Health & Science University: OHSU President Dr. Joe Robertson is retiring, but his replacement is likely to make at least as much as Robertson's $1.7 million paycheck for last year. OHSU will probably have other million-dollar earners, although doctors' earnings for medical services are exempt from the new law.

The tax on Robertson's successor: $215,000, enough to buy a handmade quilt for each of OHSU Hospital's 522 beds.

Providence Health & Services: Providence, which operates 50 hospitals in five states, paid at least 10 executives more than $1 million according to its latest tax return, topped by Seattle-based CEO Dr. Rod Hochman, who took home $5.17 million.

The tax on his pay: $875,000—enough to hire 10 new nurses.

Legacy Health: Legacy is a lot smaller than Providence, but its CEO, Dr. George Brown, received $2.3 million last year.

The tax on Brown's salary: $273,000, which could otherwise pay for $565,000 high-quality blood pressure cuffs.

Correction: This story originally said the non-profits would pay an excise tax on an affected employee's entire salary. In fact, the tax is only on the compensation in excess of $1 million. WW regrets the error.