Bi-Partisan Tax Proposal: Make Olympic Awards non-taxable...

[JCMach1]

Granted some athletes will make millions off of the games. However, what about those medalists in obscure sports?

Should they be burdened with thousands of extra in income tax because they won a medal for their country?

Time for an exemption...

Olympic athletes who bring home medals also bring home cash — $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze — paid for by the United States Olympic Committee. Like any prize winner, from a jackpot hitter to a Nobel Prize recipient, the athletes are taxed because Olympic medals and cash bonuses are considered income, said Steven Gill, associate professor of accounting at San Diego State University... http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/08/15/olympics-victory-tax-gold-medal/88587636/

[yeoman6987]

1. I am shocked they are taxed

If they got a gold medal and a million dollars, I can see the money taxed. But a medal they will most likely pass down for generations? Doesn't seem right.

[HassleCat]

2. I don't get it.

Why would we do this?

[JCMach1]

3. Especially in obscure sports, people devote infinite hours to promote their country

You might even see it as service to their country during their prime earning years.

So yeah, they deserve it.

[Taitertots]

7. So you think we should encourage people to spend prime years...

Practicing for trivial competition instead of acts which would be an actual service to the country (like medical school or law school).

[HassleCat]

8. Well then

We should not tax militare pay, government worker pay, etc.

[Dawson Leery]

4. There should be no tax on the medal.

They are not likely to sell it. The cash is another story though.

[JHB]

5. Start thinking of ways to abuse this...

...for instance: Why just the Olympics? How about prizes in other contests? How are "valid" ones determined? How loosely will "prize" be defined?

Add in court challenges and lobbying to expand it, and over a number of years a lot of lawyers being employed to make use of this in "creative" ways that turn it into another tax dodge. Remember Romney's suspiciously large IRA?

I don't think this is really necessary, but if you do, please also think about ways to prevent abuse.

[Taitertots]

6. A tax exemption creates no benefit to society

If you earn money, then you can afford the income tax.

[taught_me_patience]

9. Why shouldn't the money be taxed?

Income is income.