Terrell May spotlight turns to Jarome Luai and PNG’s tax-free edge
terrell may is not the issue here, but Jarome Luai’s arrival as player number 001 for the Papua New Guinea Chiefs has pushed the club’s tax-free salary advantage back into the spotlight. The move has reignited criticism that the new NRL side holds a recruitment edge other clubs cannot match.
Shane Richardson called the arrangement “a complete and utter rort” and said the tax-free rule makes it even worse for Perth because they cannot do it and come in one year earlier. He also said Luai did not go for the challenge, adding that he went for the tax-free money in PNG.
Richardson hits the PNG deal
Richardson went further, saying: “It’s like cheating the salary cap by 48 per cent. It’s a complete and utter rort,” and “This is all about money. This is what I said from the beginning when the NRL made this deal with PNG for this ridiculous exemption in the salary cap where players could earn tax-free dollars.”
He also argued that the tax-free rule was always going to cause problems. His complaint is aimed at the structure of the deal itself, not just Luai’s signing, with PNG having been given approval for the tax-free benefit when it was announced as a new team last year and clubs receiving $4 million each as part of that deal.
Gould sees a bigger lure
Phil Gould added another layer, warning that untaxed third-party agreements are another massive weapon for the Chiefs to lure talent. On his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, he said: “You can only pay so many players that amount of money, but the advantage is, of course, if it’s proven to be true that these are tax-free dollars, it virtually doubles the contract amount that they would normally earn in Australia,” and “I think with PNG those [the third-party deals] will be endless. Absolutely endless.”
He also said: “They’ll have six million members. I mean, it’s quite extraordinary what’ll go on up there commercially.” That is the practical concern for rival clubs: PNG can sell a tax edge and commercial upside at the same time, while other teams are bound by standard salary rules.
Chammas backs PNG growth
Michael Chammas pushed back on the criticism, saying it was shortsighted and that the game will benefit from having PNG thrive. The split in views leaves Luai’s announcement doing more than adding a marquee name to the Chiefs list; it has become the latest test of whether the competition accepts a new club entering with an approved tax break that its rivals cannot use.
For Perth, that is the immediate pressure point. For everyone else, it is a reminder that player number 001 is already shaping the recruitment argument before the Chiefs have even played a game.
