Palmetto Proving Grounds

Congress can do whatever they want. Want to take bets if they can agree?

Redistribution of wealth.

Taxes are just going to get worse as higher paying jobs decrease and rich get sick of getting soaked. Then you have liberal states like California considering taxing mileage. All cars would be outfitted with a machine that would track miles.

Folks like us (I am going to assume most of posters are middle class) are going to suffer. Don't want this to be a political discussion, but I recall Candidate Bill Clinton talking about a yacht tax. Of course, it passed and yacht manufactures in northeast and San Diego are went out of business as the wealthy went to Canada and Mexico to purchase and avoid the implemented taxes.

Just can't get some folks to understand Robin Hood is a nice fairytale, but not practical economics.

Didn't know that. Thanks.

Playing devil's advocate. The $25k that is paid out is prize money the athletes earned through a US Organization. Why should they be exempt from paying taxes on prize money when all other prize money in the US is taxed?

Why does it matter? People win money and are taxed all the time for athletic feats, whether in the Olympics or not. Why should this be any different? And they're still coming out with a little over $15k in their pockets, which is more than they had when they left for London. This is a bonus for being at the top of their sport. Do you feel Spurrier shouldn't have his bonus taxed for making it to Atlanta in December? I mean, it's the freaking SEC Championship dude.

So, they earned that money and by winning gold will probably get thousands more if not millions in endorsement money. Why should they get tax free gifts? They earn more in prize money than a person making minimum wage earns in a year. Everyone has to pay taxes, not sure why so many of you fight this.

I agree with your premise. I agree that everyone should pay taxes... but everyone doesn't pay taxes (or their fair share). There are so many exceptions that the US tax code is a mess. If they make enough exceptions for GE to pay a 3% tax one year (forgot which year it was) then I think they can make an exception for Olympic athletes winning gold.

If we fixed our tax code to where everyone actually paid their fair share of taxes then I would not have a problem with taxing these athletes. But since the system is so screwed up already, why not make an exemption here?

Well that sounds great and all, but good luck with that. Neither party has any real desire to tackle the tax code. So while we know this, let's look at a few practical solutions.

One, everyone shut up about athletes paying taxes on getting money for nothing essentially. These are supposed to be amateurs(for the most part) and they are supposed to be doing this for this country, not for a paycheck. Plus they get plenty of other perks for free, this people are not suffering. My suggestion is the whiners sit down and shut up.

Two, people can whine and complain about the tax code, not accept the fact that life isn't fair, and increase or deficit and national debt be about a million dollars to put money in the pockets of people who are already doing just fine.

I have zero sympathy for people who don't like paying their taxes. You get a bill, you pay it. End of story.

And you are right, everyone doesn't pay their fair share. Exhibit A, Mitt Romney. He made over $23 million in 2008 yet paid under $500 to the federal government in income taxes. I paid more than that in 2008 while making a great deal less than Romney. Definitely not fair. But guess what, I didn't complain about my tax bill.