Phil Mickelson Faces 61 Percent Tax Rate Following Back-To-Back Wins

CBS Los Angeles ^ | July 24, 2013

[grundle]

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Thanks to his recent wins at both The Open Championship and the Scottish Open, Phil Mickelson pocketed more than $2.16 million in just two weeks.

The world’s top golfer —who came under fire earlier this year when he complained about his supposed 60 percent tax rate as a California resident — is taking another hit on his recent earnings.

According to Forbes, Mickelson has been subjected to the United Kingdom’s 45 percent tax rate for those who make more than £150,000 a year. In addition, the magazine reports, he will be taxed on a portion of the endorsement income he earned during his time in Scotland.

While Mickelson can take a foreign tax credit to avoid being taxed again by the U.S. government, he still has to pay self-employment taxes, the new Medicare surtax, and hand over 13.3 percent of his wages to the state of California, which does not have a foreign tax credit, Forbes reported.

[Georgia Girl 2]

He’s insane to stay in Kalifornia.

[TontoKowalski]

You are correct. Phil's home is San Diego. I think his wife (Amy, I believe) is also from the area... although I can't be sure.

He is a devoted family man by all accounts, and I'm sure close proximity to his parents/in-laws was a great comfort to him, especially during the illnesses of his wife and mother.

His lifetime winnings are over $60M, and his earnings from endorsements dwarf that number. He's certainly paid dearly to live in California, and he's not an idiot... so he must view the price of living where he wants as worth it.

Having watched him for many years, I get the impression that he is a man of faith. He's certainly an outstanding ambassador for the game.

[SgtHooper]

Plus, a golf ball rolls forever on that hard dry ground!

[hosepipe]

Associating his life choices with his “civics acumen” is unjustified.

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All choices are political.. some are cowards.. traitors and/or collaborators(Vichy)..
30 years ago in Mexifornia you’d be correct.. today NOT..
ALL the decent folks in Calif. have already left..
A few RINOs do remain.. deserve what they get..

[Baynative]

His lifetime winnings are over $60 million, but that's just PGA Tournament purses. He currently rakes in over $50 MILLION a year in endorsements and corporate outings. Life is good for Phil and deserves every bit of it.

I've worked several tournaments where he's played and seen him stand there signing autographs 'til every kid (and dad) is happy. He's huge into charity work and gives selflessly without fanfare. When he heard of x-NFL star Conrad Dobler suffering a debilitating illness that was eating him up financially, Phil put his daughter through college. He wanted to do it anonymously, but it got leaked and he was embarrassed because he didn't want to make it known the family was in need.

[TontoKowalski]

Thank you for sharing that story. It confirms what I've always guessed about this fine man.

I know this is a political board, but this is a good and decent person. The fact that he's kept his politics personal (and none of us know what they are) is irrelevant.