Medal Winners Must Face Tax Man

Marco Rubio wants to stop that immediately
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
Medal Winners Must Face Tax Man
United States' Nathan Adrian poses with his gold medal for the men's 100-meter freestyle.   (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

US Olympians who medal in London get to share some of their glory with the IRS. The group Americans for Tax Reform (a Grover Norquist production) breaks it down this way:

  • Gold: Given the $25,000 cash award and the value of the medal itself ($675), recipients would owe the IRS up to $8,986
  • Silver: The cash award of $15,000 plus the medal itself ($385) equal a tax bill of up to $5,385
  • Bronze: The cash award of $10,000 plus the medal ($5) equal a tax bill of up to $3,502

On the heels of that report, Marco Rubio introduced a measure in the Senate today to immediately stop the practice of taxing successful Olympians, reports ABC News. “We need a fundamental overhaul of our tax code, but we shouldn’t wait any time we have a chance to aggressively fix ridiculous tax laws like this tax on Olympians’ medals and prize money,” he said. His measure would apply to awards won after 2011. (More IRS stories.)

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