Wow! 2 gold medals? That will be $14,000.00 please.

• Devils Advocate

  

  So as of this writing, swimmer Missy Franklin—who's a high school student—is already on the hook for almost $14,000

  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

  http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/go-gold-pay-irs_649187.html
  
  \aafukineffed
• ernest_t_bass

  

  That's retarded.
• chicago510

  

  Especially since she is still an amateur (god knows why) so she has no sponsorship $$$ to pay it.
• gut

  They didn't win those medals, they had help. It's only fair that they give a little more because they've been more fortunate.
• gut

  chicago510;1239221 wrote:Especially since she is still an amateur (god knows why) so she has no sponsorship $$$ to pay it.

  It's just the taxes on the prize money, so she has $$$ to pay for it. I heard a rate of 35%, not sure if prize money has a different rate from what would be your marginal one.
• said_aouita

  

  Yawn. Does she plan on competing in college? Most likely she didn't take the prize money anyway.
  Welcome to the United States, our taxes still are not as bad as some countries.
  
  Silly one-sided article.
• Pick6

  

  I dont have a problem with it. Why shouldnt earnings be taxed?
• ts1227

  

  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/01/americans-tax-reform/do-olympic-medalists-owe-9000-irs/
• MoldyDog

  Many of the winners will also receive cash awards from their sport's federation. Swimmers that win a gold also get $75k from the US swim federation(and get another $50k bonus for a world record).$30k for silver and $15k for bronze.
  Wrestling $250k for gold, $50k for silver, $25k for bronze.
  Cycling $100k gold, $75k silver, $50k bronze.
  Triathalon $20k gold, $10k silver, $5k bronze.
• gut

  ^^^Damn! How much loot did Phelps haul-in for 8 medals in 2008? (guessing relay teams might split $75k)...but he had a few WR's also.
• Abe Vigoda

  

  This is the kind of stuff that the Drudge Report "reports" on.
• tcarrier32

  

  anyone commenting in this thread without reading that politifact article is really making themselves look bad. just like with every other form of tax collection in the United States, there are loopholes. These athletes make use of these loopholes.
  
  For instance, deductions are taken from the amount owed to the IRS from everything from cell phones to the cost of uniforms. Most pay little-to-no tax on their winnings.
  

  Americans for Tax Reform is correct that gold medalists’ winnings are taxable, and it provides some leeway by saying that U.S. winners could be taxed up to $9,000.
  
  Still, it’s not likely that anyone would pay that much per medal in taxes -- even if the winner was fortunate enough to have annual income well over $380,000 and refused to deduct any business expenses on their winnings. Any accountant worth their salt should be able to get the rate of tax on medal winnings much below $9,000, and maybe even to zero. We rate the statement Mostly False.

  
  
  class dismissed.
• Steel Valley Football

  ^^^^
  
  lol what a tool...is that 3BALL???
• Mikey McD

  I took some accounting and business classes at Akron so I don't need to read that article.
• gut

  Yeah, it's a perfectly legit form of taxation. The "up to 35% tax rate" is mostly for shock value.
  
  It does seem kind of shitty, but when you consider how much money is available to these athletes to support training & facilities, objectively it's a lousy ROI on to collect a few tax dollars on winnings. I'm fine with it. I get entertainment out of watching the athletes compete and have no issue with my tax dollars supporting their hard work.
• Fly4Fun

  

  Also there seems to be the misconception that our tax dollars go to the athletes, they don't.
  
  The United States Olympic Committee is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation supported by donations from individuals and corporations. Our athletes are not directly supported (no direct federal aid) by our government, which is one of the big differences between us and many other countries, especially evil China.
• Pick6

  

  Mikey McD;1239823 wrote:I took some accounting and business classes at Akron so I don't need to read that article.

  Reps
• gut

  Fly4Fun;1239899 wrote:Also there seems to be the misconception that our tax dollars go to the athletes, they don't.
  
  The United States Olympic Committee is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation supported by donations from individuals and corporations. Our athletes are not directly supported (no direct federal aid) by our government, which is one of the big differences between us and many other countries, especially evil China.

  didn't know that. Thanks. Of course, there's some fungible money at play with facilities and what not. I think rules have changed, though, but it was never anything like China or the old USSR.
  
  But you know, at the end of the day, it's probably almost criminal what NBC is making on the Olympics and the majority of these athletes are in the red to pursue a sport they love.
• Manhattan Buckeye

  If you want to make bank on the Olympics, move to Singapore. $1M (tax free) for a gold medal. Given that the country has never won one, there are opportunities. Ping pong and badminton are the only sports that they have a chance in this year.
• believer

  

  gut;1240045 wrote:But you know, at the end of the day, it's probably almost criminal what NBC is making on the Olympics and the majority of these athletes are in the red to pursue a sport they love.

  I heard a radio talk show a few days ago discussing the fact that most networks that broadcast the Olympic games actually lose money on the broadcasts. They're hoping that their promos interjected throughout the Olympic broadcasts will boost viewership of their regular prime time broadcasts. It's a ratings game.
• Fly4Fun

  

  believer;1240091 wrote:I heard a radio talk show a few days ago discussing the fact that most networks that broadcast the Olympic games actually lose money on the broadcasts. They're hoping that their promos interjected throughout the Olympic broadcasts will boost viewership of their regular prime time broadcasts. It's a ratings game.

  You can tell that NBC is definitely trying to push their new sports network and trying to get a piece of ESPN's pie.
  
  That and there seem to be a lot of advertisements for the show that seems similar to ABC's Modern Family.
• ts1227

  

  NBC LOST upwards of $200M on the 2010 Winter games, and just a couple days ago said that they will break even this year (they had originally projected another $200M loss). Every Olympics up to that point had been profitable, but NBC Sports has been a massive fuck up as of late so this isn't exactly surprising.
  
  They horrendously overpaid for their rights, and it's the same contract through 2020.
  
  http://online.wsj.com/article/AP64d7ff358db542ca99d0562f043cc86d.html
• gut

  Forgot about what they paid for the rights.
  
  Who does get that money? Is it the host country or the IOC?
• ts1227

  

  gut;1240220 wrote:Forgot about what they paid for the rights.
  
  Who does get that money? Is it the host country or the IOC?

  http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/135953