IRS taxes Olympic medals ?? WTF ?

Betallsports · Aug 2, 2012

Win a medal, pay the price

Go for the gold — but should you succeed, be prepared to dole out some gold of your own.

The U.S. Olympic Committee awards prize money to American medal winners: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, $10,000 for bronze. That prize money is taxed at a rate of as much as 35 percent, Americans for Tax Reform calculated. On top of that, the medals themselves are taxed: You only have to fork over $2 to the IRS for the privilege of keeping your bronze medal, but carve off $236 worth from that gold medal.

Michael Phelps should have no trouble shouldering the tax burden — he makes millions in endorsements. But fellow U.S. swimmer Allison Schmitt has won two golds, a silver and a bronze in London. That’s $75,000 in total prize money — and $26,857 owed to the United States Treasury.

BAGIANT · Aug 2, 2012

I just heard this on ESPN Radio also. I had never heard of this before this year. I really don't understand the tax. I didn't hear that they would give a $$$ amount to amateurs. I thought they were taxing the medals. I didn't think that athletes could receive any kind of payment from anyone, including the Olympic Committee.

The Senator Rubio from Florida is trying to have the tax repealed.

bigbet1234 · Aug 2, 2012

I'm about sick of taxes

CoachCB · Aug 2, 2012

Barry O needs it all. These Olympians are not exempt....they have to pay their "fair share"...

---

buddyboy · Aug 2, 2012

isn't the debt per US Citizen per year something like $60,000?

which means everyone should be paying $60k per year in taxes just to cover their fair share of debt.

I think it's close to 190k per person for old debt

every living US Citizen should pay $250,000 per year in taxes in order to be paying their fair share.

some people can't afford to pay their share.

hno:

JackStraw77 · Aug 3, 2012

The athletes should get paid for winning medals. Most of them just have regular jobs and other than the ones that compete in glamour sports they struggle financially.

JohnnyMac · Aug 3, 2012

JackStraw77 said:
The athletes should get paid for winning medals. Most of them just have regular jobs and other than the ones that compete in glamour sports they struggle financially.

If that is true, which I don't really believe, isn't it their choice to perform in a sport that makes them poor? Couldn't they just go work at Chik-Fil-A and make wonderful money?

Redagger029 · Aug 3, 2012

BAGIANT said:
I just heard this on ESPN Radio also. I had never heard of this before this year. I really don't understand the tax. I didn't hear that they would give a $$$ amount to amateurs. I thought they were taxing the medals. I didn't think that athletes could receive any kind of payment from anyone, including the Olympic Committee.

The Senator Rubio from Florida is trying to have the tax repealed.

I hope Senator Rubio is successful. This is one of the stupidist things I've ever heard.

Albatross · Aug 3, 2012

Spreading the wealth.......USA new motto. Get use to it fellas.

VIEJODINOSAUR · Aug 3, 2012

Our country is retarded....government is really greedy.....

mnmike · Aug 3, 2012

BAGIANT said:
I just heard this on ESPN Radio also. I had never heard of this before this year. I really don't understand the tax. I didn't hear that they would give a $$$ amount to amateurs. I thought they were taxing the medals. I didn't think that athletes could receive any kind of payment from anyone, including the Olympic Committee.

The Senator Rubio from Florida is trying to have the tax repealed.

They are no longer amateurs and haven't been for years. As is evidenced by the NBA players. Almost all athletes in popular sports are either paid, or get big endorsement income.

They are paying tax on income, considering our deficit, I dont think there's anything wrong with that.

snoop · Aug 3, 2012

If they don't like uncle Sam, they can always opt out of the Olympic.

LMAO!@!

studmlb55 · Aug 3, 2012

They are paid in cash along with the medals. They have to pay taxes on the cash that is given to them (25k gold, 15k silver, 10k bronze) just like every other person has to pay taxes on earned income/winnings, etc. The medal itself is relatively not worth near as much (gold medal is just gold plated) and they pay a small tax on that. They still come out well ahead...

Doug · Aug 3, 2012

not much different than winning 25k on Jeopardy.... ( at first glance). Perhaps training expenses should be deductable, though ?

Tough call as I'm sure many ( parents) spend a fortune on getting their kids there to hopefully make the USA proud of them

doubledeuce22 · Aug 3, 2012

they should have to pay taxes.......according to obuma, their success is due to the government, not their own hard work or training.

Sol-Rosenberg · Aug 4, 2012

this is pathetic, but figures

DeathEatsaCracker · Aug 4, 2012

This just in....earned income is taxable.

Oh, and from PolitiFact:

An athlete who wins a medal bonus would be free to deduct any unreimbursed expenses from the bonus, lowering -- or maybe even eliminating -- their tax hit. In fact, accountants say an athlete would be crazy not to.

"Anything used for the production of income is deductible," said Brad Bell, a partner with BGBC Partners LLP in Indianapolis who specializes in accounting for athletes.

Greg Shafer, an accountant in Colorado Springs, Colo., added that "if they were my client and had to pay that kind of tax, I would say, ‘Well, what are your ordinary and necessary expenses?’ That could be travel, uniforms, cell phone use." The U.S. Olympic Committee is based in Colorado Springs, and Shafer said he has provided accounting services to athletes.

So expenses for gymnasts might include tumbling classes, payments to coaches and travel costs to international meets. Cyclists would pay for new bikes and maintenance. An Olympian fencer told Forbes.com that her expenses for equipment and competitions run around $20,000 per year.

TheFunkMonkey · Aug 4, 2012

Don't soldiers pay tax on their income?

So we're going to tax soldiers, but we're not going to tax a volleyball player who wins $25k?

This is just a publicity stunt for Rubio & GOP --- and I'm conservative/libertarian on almost every issue.

PamelaC · Aug 9, 2012

It's a nice thing that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida (R) introduced the Olympic Tax Elimination Act, or TEAM Act, last week, directed at exempting winning Olympic players from being taxed on their medals. However, others say the bill is simply a back-door approach to pushing his tax reform agenda.

buddyboy · Aug 9, 2012

It's a nice thing that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida (R) introduced the Olympic Tax Elimination Act, or TEAM Act, last week, directed at exempting winning Olympic players from being taxed on their medals. However, others say the bill is simply a back-door approach to pushing his tax reform agenda.

lebron must have called in a favor

IRS taxes Olympic medals ?? WTF ?

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