As many of us know, the IRS has a way of taking away things you have earned. Many of you may not realize though that any income you earn abroad can be taxed by the U.S. This includes the winnings of Olympic athletes at the Sochi games.
The U.S. Olympic Committee awards prizes to U.S. Olympic medal winners. Gold medals earn $25,000, Silver gets $15,000 and Bronze will get you $10,000. Depending on which tax bracket these athletes fall in, they could be paying a lot in taxes. Olympic snowboarder Shaun White could pay over a third of his winnings to the IRS.
The U.S. is one of the only developed countries that taxes income earned abroad. So most likely the U.S. will be the only one taxing its athletes who are representing this country. The fact that many of our opposing nations do not require this of their athletes goes to show just how greedy our government is.
If you are in the top tax bracket (like Shaun White) and you win the gold medal, the amount of tax paid on the winnings would be $9,900. We are fining our winners?!
It seems quite silly to punish the athletes who are not only risking their wellbeing by participating in the games, but also just being in a dangerous Sochi, Russia. What a backwards system!
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