Rubio bill would make Olympic prize money tax-exempt

**Taxmancometh** · August 2nd, 2012, 05:14 AM

Rubio bill would make Olympic prize money tax-exempt | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Olympics 2012: Medal tax is all the thanks U.S. Olympic athletes get - London Olympics 2012 - Sporting News

I think it's appalling that our Olympians have to pay tax on the prize money they win with a medal.

**SpywareDr** · August 2nd, 2012, 05:46 AM

Originally Posted by Taxmancometh

I think it's appalling that our Olympians have to pay tax on the prize money they win with a medal.

Right? It's ridiculous.

.

**GroundZero3** · August 2nd, 2012, 06:39 AM

How do you figure? You pay taxes on everything

**pickel** · August 2nd, 2012, 06:50 AM

Originally Posted by GroundZero3

How do you figure? You pay taxes on everything

I pay..They pay.

They already have a "Free Ride". Make Them PAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!b

**Theophylact** · August 2nd, 2012, 09:05 AM

There is no prize money, just a medal. And even the gold medal is mostly silver; its coating is gold (about 5 grams) and the cash value is about $680.

Now the Nobel prize has both a gold medal (18K, plated with 24 K, weighing about 175 grams) and a cash prize worth about $1.2 million. Rubio isn't proposing to make that non-taxable.

**tony_j15** · August 2nd, 2012, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Theophylact

There is no prize money, just a medal.

Sez here:

the Tax Reform Foundation released a simple study on the tax implications of Olympic success. The USOC awards athletes $25,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for each silver and $10,000 for each bronze.

Sounds like a bonus, not unlike what any other employee or athlete gets for doing well. Bonuses are taxable.

What Rubio is proposing is simply ridiculous. Olympic athletes are athletes. This is their profession. Professionals pay taxes. I see no reason why they should get special treatment.

Taxman, what's your reason(s) for why they shouldn't pay taxes? What makes them special or deserving?

**Theophylact** · August 2nd, 2012, 10:19 AM

Because every nibble at any tax counts as scoring points. (Except a poll tax = fee for voter photo ID.)

**Epidemic** · August 2nd, 2012, 10:42 AM

you and your poll tax. I am all for requiring states to provide id cards for free. But either way the poll tax was a unique problem associated with the post civil war era south. A large swath of the electorate could not afford the poll tax due to post civil are era poverty. I doubt you could find an equivalent number of people who could not eek out the cost of ID once every 5 or 6 years.

**tony_j15** · August 2nd, 2012, 10:52 AM

Let's stay on topic. Idiotic ideas about having to pay to vote belong in their own thread where that idea can be fully ridiculed.
Here, we're talking about taxing Olympians and whether or not they deserve a tax break. I'm still not sure why. Patriotism?

**Mikev2.0** · August 2nd, 2012, 11:30 AM

Remember, athletes that medal in the Olympics will return home and have speaking arrangements, added sponsorship, etc. because of the medals they won. They may end up getting taxed on the medal bonus, but should have additional income rolling their way.

However, I find it ridiculous politicians want to tax others, considering all of the fun and unique ways they get around being treated like a regular person.

**Theophylact** · August 2nd, 2012, 11:32 AM

Idiotic ideas about exempting one tiny class of people from taxes are fair game, though, because it's the salami-slicing scam.

**Toadman** · August 2nd, 2012, 11:51 AM

What Rubio is proposing is simply ridiculous. Olympic athletes are athletes. This is their profession. Professionals pay taxes. I see no reason why they should get special treatment.

I thought professionals get paid, Tony?

**tony_j15** · August 2nd, 2012, 11:59 AM

Olympic athletes get paid. Most countries pay their athletes up front, in the US we don't use taxpayer money for it. It comes from USOC and various sporting organizations. AFAIK, all athletes are paid a stipend (read: salary). It might not be the greatest money, but once you get that medal and the sponsorships start rolling in, you're set.

**Epidemic** · August 2nd, 2012, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by Theophylact

There is no prize money, just a medal. And even the gold medal is mostly silver; its coating is gold (about 5 grams) and the cash value is about $680.

Wrong!

as explained above. 25k for gold, 15k for silver and 10k for bronze

Although I would bet you could write off alot of expenses against any tax you owed on the prize. It sounds like people typically spend alot more on preparation for the olympics then they receive as a prize.

**tony_j15** · August 2nd, 2012, 03:18 PM

Another thought: depending on how the law was structured, it could potentially make all sorts of sponsorship money tax-exempt (athletes like Michael Phelps make big bucks from his sponsors for winning), and if the wording was truly poor, it could be used by any and all athletes. I like my baseball players to pax taxes, thank you ver much.

**sharder8** · August 2nd, 2012, 03:30 PM

There are a number of Olympians that work a normal job and get paid to practice their Olympic skills. The Government makes money off the Olympians winnings, but the Olympian has a job till retirement and then retirement pay as early as age 40.

Here's the Bio's of 18 Olympians that I'm talking about. Read and enjoy!

Harder

**Taxmancometh** · August 2nd, 2012, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by tony_j15

Taxman, what's your reason(s) for why they shouldn't pay taxes? What makes them special or deserving?

Simple! They are American heroes!!! They do things yours and my fat ass couldn't. They represent this country and shouldn't be punished by having to pay taxes on an accomplishment! Especially world record accomplishments.

**tony_j15** · August 2nd, 2012, 05:55 PM

Heroes? Hardly. They are athletes. Do people look up to them? Yes. But they aren't soldiers, or firemen, or police officers, or doctors. They're a bunch of twenty-somethings who can swim (or insert sport here). Is it cool that they can do a specific physical activity better than anyone else on the planet? Yes. Does it make them deserving of special tax breaks? Absolutely not.

Do you think are soldiers are heroes? Do you also support having them pay no taxes? What about cops? What about doctors? What about firefighters?

**Taxmancometh** · August 2nd, 2012, 06:07 PM

It's a once in a life time achievement that is trained for years! This achievement should simply not be taxed. It's not like being a paid fireman, or a police officer or a soldier or a doctor. If they were to be Olympians sure, the award should be tax free. Are awards given to doctors taxed? Are ranks given to soldiers taxed? I don't think so. This bill should have been introduced a LONG time ago.

**Theophylact** · August 2nd, 2012, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by Taxmancometh

It's a once in a life time achievement that is trained for years! This achievement should simply not be taxed. It's not like being a paid fireman, or a police officer or a soldier or a doctor. If they were to be Olympians sure, the award should be tax free. Are awards given to doctors taxed? Are ranks given to soldiers taxed? I don't think so. This bill should have been introduced a LONG time ago.

So why is the Nobel not being proposed for tax-exempt status (as it is in many countries)? I assure you that the winners of that worked at least as hard and as long, and served mankind a hell of a lot better than (say) a dressage champion.