US tax their medal winners

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 6:18 pm

US medal winners get taxed. Shocked

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19101429

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 6:54 pm

I see nothing wrong with that, we all pay tax!

two solutions:
they're pro's and then it's income which should be taxed, give some back to the community

they're amateurs then they did a big gamble and won some, then it should be tax free.

Guess the IRS thinks it is the first solution. Wink

but then they can't compete in the OG ?

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:50 pm

The US Congress is going to take up a bill in September when Congress returns that which has both Dems and GOP supporting and will make it retroactive that the Olympic winners will not have to pay the tax on their medals.

The stipends they receive start with $25K for gold and go down from there. The stipends are not paid by the US government but by the IOC

Today I read that other countries pay their Olympic athletes so much that it is a burden on their countries. These funds are paid by their respective governments to the athletes

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:11 pm

I don't agree with taxing based on the piece of metal that they win, but I don't have a problem with taxing any other monetary winnings like the rest of us.

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:23 pm

^^^ Generally speaking anyone making $25K or less in the US does not pay taxes, therefore the US Olympic athletes' stipends should not be taxed either as they are $25K (for gold medal) and less for silver and bronze. Their travel and living expenses are paid from private and corporate donors.

The small stipend the winner's receive are a trifle compared to the expenses they and their parents have had over the years to get where they are today.

In 2012 Russia will pay $135,000 for a gold medal, $81,600 for silver and $54,400 for a bronze medal

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:40 pm

Athletes don't really do it for the money, but those that do win medals will never be short of well paid offers to appear on TV, open branches of Freshco, do adverts for shoes with a tick on them etc etc. All taxable, of course.

Master Baiter Joined: 20 Nov 2009 Posts: 114

Income is taxable, period.

According to the article (and other reports I've seen of this), the money is not paid by the IOC, but by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Athletes in countries who don't get cash rewards (like the U.K.) for winning medals don't pay taxes on them.

I remember when pro athletes weren't even allowed to compete in the Olympics, much less get paid for doing so. (Although some countries found loopholes around that, which was a big part of why the rules were changed.)

That said, while I don't see a problem with athletes paying tax on the income, taxing athletes for the value of the medals (metal?) seems absurd.

US tax their medal winners	View next topic View previous topic