Olympic athletes who bring home the gold, silver and bronze for Team USA will no longer pay a “victory tax” for their achievement under a bill that President Barack Obama signed into law Friday.
The IRS will now be prohibited from taxing most medals or other prizes awarded to U.S. Olympians.
The U.S. Olympic Committee awards cash prizes to medalists, ranging from $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. The cash prize comes on top of the value of the medals themselves: $600 for gold and $300 for silver; bronze medals aren’t worth much. …
But not all Team USA medalists will be exempt. The tax will still apply to high-profile athletes who earn at least $1 million a year, such as swimmer Michael Phelps.
via GymCastic
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So was this Victory Tax a special tax purely aimed at prize money or is it just a nickname?
I would’ve expected any prize money like that to be eligible for income tax. However, unless the Olympian had another source of income, the income tax rate on the money would be little to nil.
I do wonder where that USAOC money comes from? Wouldn’t it come from the Government anyway? Seems pointless to pay prize money to winning Olympians.
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