MLB season is beginning again and what also comes with that are teams using the tax code for taxpayers money.

Here’s a snippet from the WashingtonExaminer.com (Full story here)

Major League Baseball franchises have been busy holding out their mitts to federal, state and local and governments to fund everything from 40,000-seat major league stadiums to 5,000-seat minor league stadiums. Since 2000, MLB franchises have received $1.41 billion dollars in federal subsidies on bonds alone, with more than $430 million going to the new Yankee Stadium. While the old Yankee Stadium might have been the house that Ruth built, the new one was certainly built by taxpayers.

The tactics used to squeeze taxpayer handouts usually come in two forms. The first, friendlier approach to secure a new stadium is the myth that a new stadium will leadoff to an economic boom. For cities that already have stadiums, the hardball approach of threatening to move to a new city works wonders.