Posted on 08/15/2016 12:30:42 PM PDT by Kaslin
If you're like me, you love the Olympics. You especially love the Olympics when Team USA is wracking up bragging rights and this time around, they're winning big.
Unfortunately, years of dedication to mastering a sport and taking home Olympic medals is expensive. Why? Team USA athletes who win medals get slapped with giant tax bills as soon as they arrive home from Rio.
America's Olympic medalists must pay state and federal taxes on the prize money they get for winning. The U.S. Olympic Committee awards $25,000 for gold medals, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.
That's not all. Olympians also have to pay tax on the value of the medals themselves.
Bummer.
Think this is unfair? Ironically, so does tax-hike supporting Senator Chuck Schumer.
H/T Larry O'Connor
That’s how professional poker players do it. In Phelps’ situation, he is probably set up as a corporation.
If the Greedy Government wants Half then change the Government
I can see taxing the cash paid to the athletes for winning medals, but I disagree with taxing them on the intrinsic value of the medal itself.
Tax the prize money as income. Don’t tax the medals. BTW the price of bronze in the bronzn medal $2. Silver medal worth about $300. Gold medal, gold plated, the rest silver, about $450. So the IRS coming after the athletes for the value of the medals is silly
Other professional athletes pay taxes on their winnings. Why shouldn’t Olympians?
I had a job that took me to Rio and the income I earned there was taxed.
Why should Olympic atheletes be treated differently?
If they get paid for it, of course they should.
Does all that money and valuable medals make them professional athletes? Jim Thorpe got busted for less.
When I say PHOOEY, I mean PHOOEY!
PHOOEY!!!!
An Olympic Medal pays for itself as booty-bait, even without endorsements.
More like millions PER endorsement!
I believe the US is the only nation that taxes worldwide income. Other nations’ winners aren’t taxed.
Yes, they can deduct training expenses which are probably more than the value of the medals.
They are in Canada. Of course, we pay them less for winning too.
Sure the superstars like Phelps and Ledecki will earn alot in endorsements.
What’s sad is the sweat lady that won our first gold medal of this Olympics in the air rifle competition probably could really use the money but will have to forfeit much of it to the tax man.
Will they have to sell the medals to pay the taxes on them?
trump should hook her up,with commercials
More than being unfair, I call it stupid.
It’s in front of the world how they gained the medal. It wasn’t exactly an income producing scheme.
Hopefully, though, since they’re being treated as a business, they can deduct a lifetime of expenses before showing a business profit.
“Will they have to sell the medals to pay the taxes on them?”
Given that family members who inherit small businesses and family farms often sell them to pay the inheritance taxes, it is only fair for athletes to do the same. Why should Olympic athletes be any different than other citizens? If they don’t want to pay the taxes they can always turn down the award.
I agree. Money earned is taxable. Even if you are a US citizen and you live and work overseas, you must pay US taxes. I knew American civilians who worked in Germany when I was in the Army. They had to pay taxes on their earnings.
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