NEW YORK (AP) &045; The Yankees are paying more in luxury tax than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays spent on their payroll.

New York is required to pay $25,026,352, according to a

memorandum sent to all major league teams.

Two other teams also owe money for exceeding the payroll threshold of $120.5 million: Boston must send $3,155,234 and Anaheim $927,059. Checks for the competitive-balance tax, as it is formally known, are due at the commissioner’s office by Jan. 31.

&uot;The CBT is now an important part of baseball’s economic landscape,&uot; Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail this week. &uot;From my perspective, even though it costs us, the stronger the CBT is in the future, the stronger the sport is going to be. It is a much more productive form of taxation than that of strictly revenue taxation because the economic incentives for teams are not damaged.&uot;

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, finished with the lowest payroll for the third straight season. At $24.4 million, the Devil Rays had the lowest figure for a 25-man roster since 2000.

In 2003, the first year of the new luxury tax, the Yankees were the only team to pay, owing $11,798,357, according to the team’s latest revised bill. Because they exceeded the threshold a second time, the Yankees were taxed at a rate of 30 percent for the amount they were over. Boston and Anaheim were taxed at a 22.5 percent rate.

If the Yankees go over the 2005 threshold of $128 million, which appears certain, they would be taxed at a 40 percent rate.

New York also estimates it will give up about $60 million as part of baseball’s revenue-sharing plan this season, meaning the Yankees will send the commissioner’s office about $85 million of their estimated $315 million revenue in 2004. Boston’s revenue-sharing payment is estimated at approximately $42 million on revenue of at least $220 million.

The Yankees easily finished ahead of other teams in the regular payrolls figures for the sixth straight season, winding up at a record $187.9 million, $18 million above the previous mark they set in 2003.

Boston, which overcame a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees in the AL championship series and won the World Series for the first time since 1918, was second at $130.4 million.

Anaheim, defeated by the Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs, was third at $115.6 million, followed by the New York Mets ($103.2 million), Los Angeles ($101.7 million), the Chicago Cubs ($100.7 million) and Philadelphia ($97.4 million).

St. Louis, swept by Boston in the World Series, was eighth at $92.8 million.

At the other end, Milwaukee was 29th at $29.6 million, down from $43.3 million, and Pittsburgh was 28th at $32.5 million, down from $53.3 million.

Texas fell from fifth at $103.3 million to 13th at $79.2 million, Atlanta went from sixth at $98 million to 12th at $79.4 million, Seattle dropped from seventh at $97.7 million to 11th at $81.8

million and Arizona declined from 11th at $83.8 million to 15th at $68.4 million.

Anaheim rose from 12th at $80 million to third, the Cubs increased from 10th at $84 million to sixth and Philadelphia went up from 15th at $71.5 million to seventh.

Payrolls include salaries, prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned bonuses, buyouts of 2004 options and cash transactions.