I never wanted to be Alan Greenspan when I grew up. I never wanted to work for H & R Block. I never even wanted to fill out my own tax return myself.



I enjoy writing more than write-offs. And I’m pretty sure most of you relate to that, unless you’re an actuary or something.



But there’s one tax in the world I do know a few things about. Believe it or not, I know enough about baseball’s Competitive Balance Tax, more often called the luxury tax, to understand exactly why the Red Sox were convinced it was worth their while to trade Mookie Betts and David Price. I can sum it up this way for you:



$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$



I’ve done that math. I even ran it past people in baseball who work with this tax every day. And I can tell you that trading those two guys, and dipping under the tax threshold, could easily be worth hundreds of millions in savings off future tax bills. But…



I can also tell you...