For everything Cleveland Cavs related, be sure to download our new Chat Sports iPhone app and follow our Cavs team page today.
With the renewal of Cuyahoga County's sin tax coming up for a vote on May 6th, the Cleveland Cavs, along with the rest of Cleveland's professional sports teams, are using their wallets to help keep the tax in place.
According to Andrew J. Tobias of the Northwest Ohio Media Group (via Cleveland.com), "the Browns, Cavs and Indians contributed about $333,000 each to Keep Cleveland Strong between Jan. 1 and March 15, according to a campaign finance report (PDF) filed Thursday. In April, the teams loaned another $200,000 to the effort, splitting the costs evenly."
Besides helping to fund the campaign itself, the Cleveland Cavs "contributed $231,000 worth of free marketing and personnel" in an effort to facilitate a 20-year renewal of the county's tax on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.
"The tax, which is assessed at 4.5 cents per pack of cigarettes, 1.5 cents per 12-ounce bottle of beer, 6 cents per 750-milliliter bottle of wine and $3 per gallon of hard liquor, would raise an estimated $13 million to $14 million a year," writes Tobias.