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16 Year Old Gold Medalist Owes Taxes for Medal
Olympians who devote their lives to their sports for no money must pay some pretty severe taxes if they medal, according to The Weekly Standard.
Think about this. The wonderful 16 year old Missy Franklin who won the gold medal is already in debt to the IRS just for winning a race and standing on the podium.
Americans who win bronze will pay a $2 tax on the medal itself. But the bronze comes with a modest prize—$10,000 as an honorarium for devoting your entire life to being the third best athlete on the planet in your chosen discipline. And the IRS will take $3,500 of that, thank you very much.
There are also prizes that accompany each medal: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze.
Silver medalists will owe $5,385. You win a gold? Timothy Geithner will be standing there with his hand out for $8,986.
So as of this writing, swimmer Missy Franklin—who’s a high school student—is already on the hook for almost $14,000. By the time she’s done in the pool, her tab could be much higher. (That is, unless she has to decline the prize money to placate the NCAA—the only organization in America whose nuttiness rivals the IRS.)
ATR notes that the real twist of the knife is that most other Olympians won’t pay any taxes on their medals because America is one of only a handful of countries which taxes “worldwide” prize income earned overseas.
Doc
August 1st, 2012
Did the Asswipe in Chief have to pay tax on his No Bell Prize?
Lowell
August 1st, 2012
Same reason I won’t work overtime. The government is nowhere to be seen with the labor, but they want 38% of what I’d make. I stopped that over two years ago. Phuck ‘em.
norman einstein
August 1st, 2012
Boo-freaking-hoo.
Sorry, but my give-a-damn is busted.
Cash income is called “earnings” and is taxable.
Professional athletes pay taxes on their earnings, just like everyone else.
Suck it up.
Annie
August 1st, 2012
Well, there is that new AA-only department of education, the 16 illegal alien babies born/day at a local hospital, and the court martials of innocent American warriors that this uppity little accomplished gold medal winning Missy Franklin needs to pony up for.
General P. Malaise
August 1st, 2012
aside form the ugliness of tax.
I have less problem with taxing olympiads. they are for the large part subsidised by the public in various forms. when they do get the gold they learn about endorsements and off-shore banking.
cheers
FreeMan - Chick-fil-A today
August 1st, 2012
Ain’t that a kick in the teeth.
OBysmal will let them out of the tax if they give him the money for his campaign.