As we discussed yesterday, United States Olympic medal winners face income taxes for not only their award winnings from the Olympic Committee but also for the medals they won. A new bill has been introduced by Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida. The bill would waive the taxes that would cost the athletes a large portion of money they receive from winning gold, silver and bronze medals.
The athletes are awarded $25,000 when they win a gold medal, $15,000 when they win a silver medal and $10,000 when they win a bronze medal. If taxed, a gold medal winner would have to pay $8,936, which is $8,750 for the award and $236 for the medal itself. Some experts have said that this money awarded to the athletes should be considered winnings. If they are considered winnings then they should be taxed like lottery winnings. Rubio has been linked to the possibility of running mate for GOP candidate Mitt Romney.
“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,” Rubio said in a statement. His statement was used to announce the legislation, which is called The Olympic Tax Elimination Act (TEAM Act). “We can all agree that these Olympians who dedicate their lives to athletic excellence should not be punished when they achieve it.”