Americans Who Win Gold Medals Have to Pay $9,000 In Taxes
EVERYONE in the U.S. gets screwed by our messed-up taxes, even our Olympic heroes. Because it turns out when they win a medal...they owe the government TAXES.
Americans who win golds get a bonus of $25,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee. Silver gets you $15,000, bronze $10,000. And then . . . the government TAXES YOU ON THAT MONEY.
Gold medal winners end up owing $8,750 in taxes for EACH of their gold medal wins. A silver medal means $5,250 in taxes. A bronze means $3,500.
And the taxes don't stop there. You ALSO get taxed on the value of the medal itself.
A gold medal brings an extra $236, taking the total you pay in tax up to $8,986. A silver brings an extra $135, for a total of $5,385. A bronze costs an extra $2 in taxes, for a total of $3,502.
This means in 2008, after Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals, he owed the U.S. government $71,888 in taxes.
After this information started spreading online yesterday, Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, introduced a bill that would make Olympic medals and bonuses tax exempt.
The U.S. is one of the ONLY countries that taxes its own Olympians. Most countries don't tax income earned entirely overseas.
More From Awesome 98
