Tuesday, February 11, 2014
The price of gold: Taking first place in Olympics could cost US stars as much as $10G in taxes
This article discusses the fact that with the way our countries tax code is currently written, Olympic Medalists are taxed. The US Olympic commission gives monetary awards to medalist, but these prizes are considered income and therefore they are able to be taxed. Last Tuesday Republican Blake Farenthold re-introduced a bill that would make these prizes tax exempt. In all honesty the first place medalists probably aren't heavily burdened by these taxes, considering all of their sponsorships, but this doesn't necessarily make this practice right.
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Olympic earnings should certainly be tax-exempt. All of our Olympians represent America. When they do this so successfully that they are able to receive monetary awards, this is a wonderful thing that should be rewarded and not punished by forcing them to pay taxes on it. Next to no revenue is raised from this, moreover, so to me it makes very little sense to do this.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, winning the olympics is the job of the olympian, and being awarded money for that job to me sounds like income that should be taxed. On the other hand, taxing something so heavily that has been achieved on merit is counterproductive to encouraging our athletes to succeed.
ReplyDeleteOlympic Athletes should not have to pay taxes on their winnings in the Olympics. These athletes train, some for their entire lives, so that they can represent our country in the Olympics. The athletes shouldn't be punished for doing well.
ReplyDeleteI can see both sides of this issue, but because Olympic athletes train so hard for to earn these medals for our country they deserve their full monetary reward. The government does not earn much money from Olympic medal taxation so it doesn't seem like it would hurt them much to make the medals tax exempt. And, as the article mentioned, most other developed countries do not tax their athletes when they win medals.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do see both sides to this story I don't agree that these taxes are really such a huge "punishment". The basic idea of taxes is that we all contribute an appropriate amount to help make our country better. Now I know that is quite a simplified and glorified version of taxes, but most of these world class athletes after winning medals in the Olympics have sponsorships and many chances to make lots of money, much in part to the fact that they were representing the USA, shouldn't they be fine with giving some back?
ReplyDeleteI understand both sides of this problem, but being taxed because of handwork, success, and competing for your country seems somewhat unfair. Like Michaela mentioned, gold medalists may not be heavily burdened because of sponsorships, but not all the gold medalists or medalists in general are household names, but rather underdogs. It just seems ironic to me that these athletes are representing our country on a world wide stage, and when they return home they are taxed on their successes.
ReplyDeleteI this whole issue is made a lot more dramatic by the group Americans for Tax Reform. In reality, it probably won't have all that much of an extreme effect on either side. However, it definitely seems unfair that these people work so hard for this and are then taxed because they do well. This is further proven by the fact that this tax is not a common thing, and that the United States is only one of a few developed countries that do this.
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ReplyDelete“The U.S. has officially ‘earned the gold’ for having one of the most backward and illogical tax codes in the world." This really is dumb. You are being taxed for representing your country. Though 9,900 dollars would not a have been too much for him, it's the idea. I don't feel bad for the Olympians because they do not do it for the money. It's about pride. Plus endorsements from ,say, subway pay a lot. But the fact that other countries see this and judge us disgusts me.
I think it's a little ungrateful for the U.S. Government to tax our Olympians for succeeding. While I do see both sides to this argument, I think it's in poor taste to tax someone for the years they have spent training for these games. Money isn't why these people compete, they do it for the pride of representing their country, and for knowing that they are truly excellent at something.
ReplyDeleteAs a fan of the hardworking athletes that compete in the Olympic Games, I disagree with our government taxing its medalists. Truthfully, from a money standpoint, this isn't too big of a deal, considering that the athletes that are getting heavily taxed like Bode Miller and Shaun White already have millions. Also, most Olympians don't train for years and compete against the best in the world for money. The problem is that the U.S. Government is taxing people who represent their country so well in this worldwide spectacle. It just seems like it is done in poor taste.
ReplyDeleteI would also say that the Olympic athletes who have earned the medals in their events through their hard efforts should indeed be allowed to be exempted from this largely unneeded tax. This shows how laden our tax code system has become with each of the winning Olympians having to pay a certain amount per medal depending on what marginal-income tax bracket that they are located in. The fact that these athletes have to pay this tax by making a major achievement for not only themselves, but for the pride of a nation; it perplexes me to how our society would let that happen. I see it as a shame to our citizens and to the athletes who can win the gold, hopefully it it will be fixed before the next games in Rio.
ReplyDeleteThis tax code is so funky and needs to be fixed. It was good to see that there was bipartisan support for legislation like the TEAM Act and support for letting Olympians earn the full amount of money they won. These people are across the world, representing their country, and if they earn a medal, they deserve the full prize, right? It's not right that these Olympians could lose as much as 40% of their prize money because of taxes; it's not fair and this needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteI think it's ridiculous to make athletes pay for winning a gold medal. These athletes go through endless training, work extremely hard, and represent our country. So their reward for getting the gold is paying thousands of dollars in taxes? To me that's extremely unfair. Like Lydia said, it's ironic. You represent your country and are taxed out of some of your success. It's not practical and pretty absurd in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think that this tax code is really weird and somewhat funny since so many government officials love to show their patriotism by supporting Olympic athletes when they're taxing the very same athletes' successes. As Michaela said, however, these athletes are getting sponsored. Corporations, like politicians, across the country also seize the opportunity to display their patriotism by being the official "dish soap, detergent, hoagie, etc." of the entire US team and specific Olympians. These athletes are being financially compensated pretty well. Besides, I think they'll pay a tax on an Olympic medal any day rather than fourth place.
ReplyDeleteOkay I understand why everyone sees these taxes as backwards, but I have to go with Anna on this one. Really it isn't such a punishment and quite frankly I think we're being a bit dramatic about this. Yes, it seems ironic that they are taxed for their success, but these athletes have the opportunity to make money through this recognition. I understand that it's really the idea that's bothering everyone. However, they went into the contest to represent their country, so is it really a huge burden to support it through the tax?
ReplyDeleteThis was sort of funny to me for some reason; but I think we could definitely work something out. A small tax on the richest Americans could definitely fix this honestly. Taxing the people who represent our country in a global event like this is really sort of embarrassing. I don't think it's like a huge deal or anything, but still is probably important like as a cultural thing.
ReplyDeleteI never really understood how an athlete could represent their country, win a medal, and then have to pay a tax on it because they performed better than their opponents. I mean, imagine coming home from the Olympics with a medal and having to pay for it after you earned it. I am really glad Farenthold is introducing this bill and that this matter can finally be dealt with. Though many of the athletes wouldn't have trouble paying these taxes, it's simply not right.
ReplyDeleteI never really understood how an athlete could represent their country, win a medal, and then have to pay a tax on it because they performed better than their opponents. I mean, imagine coming home from the Olympics with a medal and having to pay for it after you earned it. I am really glad Farenthold is introducing this bill and that this matter can finally be dealt with. Though many of the athletes wouldn't have trouble paying these taxes, it's simply not right.
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