MLB has slapped a $3.4 million luxury tax on the Red Sox for 2011. Only Boston and the Yankees will pay the tax this year. The Empire will pay $13.9 million—down from $18 million last year. The Red Sox assessment went up from $1.5 million last year.Much of the reason for the team's gun-shy attitude toward spending this off-season is due to the certainty of going over the $178 million tax threshold again in 2012.