Obama ends the Olympic "victory tax", which required winners pay tax on medals.

[jamil]

As the number of protected classes goes up at some point it would be easier to right that wrong by adding more. If everyone is a protected class, then no one is.

but I think it's a stretch to call Olympians a protected class just because they get a tax exemption from paying taxes on their winnings.

 

[chipbennett]

As the number of protected classes goes up at some point it would be easier to right that wrong by adding more. If everyone is a protected class, then no one is.

but I think it's a stretch to call Olympians a protected class just because they get a tax exemption from paying taxes on their winnings.

Would that I were well-enough off that I could consider being taxed or not taxed on some $25,000 of earnings to be immaterial.

Regardless, every newly added protected class is a further infringement upon constitutional protections for those not included in the protected classes. Eliminate the equal protection clause, or eliminate ALL protected classes. Anything else is an affront to the constitution and to those living under it.

 

[voidsherpa]

No thanks, I'll just push for a simpler tax code, not a more complicated one that benefits sports stars.

This, seems like a bunch of people here are all for this elite class. Go win a car a raffle, you'll be paying tax on it.

 

[Stickfight]

If they let them start writing off PEDs as business expenses, that'll be the nail in the protected class coffin.

 

[AtTheMurph]

I agree with this change. I don't think the IRS should have collected tax on Olympic prizes and medals.

Our Olympians are our finest athletes... maybe they should be treated as such and not hindered by such silly regulations.

President Obama ends Olympic ?victory tax? ? OlympicTalk

Why should Olympic athletes income be treated differently from my income? Are some animals more equal than others?

 

[miguel]

A fair point to be made here.

We should have been calling Obama Care Democrat Care instead.

Gives us a permanent propaganda tool to use against Democrats. Can't vote against Obama any longer, but we can vote against the Democrats.

Confucious say, never underestimate word smithing...

 

[jamil]

Would that I were well-enough off that I could consider being taxed or not taxed on some $25,000 of earnings to be immaterial.

Regardless, every newly added protected class is a further infringement upon constitutional protections for those not included in the protected classes. Eliminate the equal protection clause, or eliminate ALL protected classes. Anything else is an affront to the constitution and to those living under it.

You keep calling it a "protected class". It's an exempted income source. The tax code is full of exempted income sources.

Now if you want to talk about eliminating all of that, and just say that all income after expenses should be taxed, regardless of source, I'm on board with that as long as there is some mechanism to ensure the tax rates are commensurate with responsible spending limits. If we truly constrained ourselves to spend in ways the constitution allowed--subsidies and entitlement spending is extra-constitutional nonsense--I don't see why our nation couldn't function on a flat rate 7% on individuals and businesses across the board. You earn a dollar, you pay 7 cents regardless of the source.

Short of that, it doesn't bother me at all that we exempt Olympic winnings from taxes. Again, it's not creating a "protected class". That's just a red herring. It's just another of many exempted income sources.

 

[chipbennett]

You keep calling it a "protected class". It's an exempted income source. The tax code is full of exempted income sources.

Now if you want to talk about eliminating all of that, and just say that all income after expenses should be taxed, regardless of source, I'm on board with that as long as there is some mechanism to ensure the tax rates are commensurate with responsible spending limits. If we truly constrained ourselves to spend in ways the constitution allowed--subsidies and entitlement spending is extra-constitutional nonsense--I don't see why our nation couldn't function on a flat rate 7% on individuals and businesses across the board. You earn a dollar, you pay 7 cents regardless of the source.

Short of that, it doesn't bother me at all that we exempt Olympic winnings from taxes. Again, it's not creating a "protected class". That's just a red herring. It's just another of many exempted income sources.

"Exempted income sources" are the functional equivalent of protected classes, especially when said income sources are not available to all, equally. Regardless, whether you consider the former functionally equivalent to the latter or not, I oppose the creation of more of either one.

And, by the way, "olympics winnings" are not like ANY of the following 33 sources of tax-exempt income:

Forbes Welcome

 

[jamil]

"Exempted income sources" are the functional equivalent of protected classes, especially when said income sources are not available to all, equally. Regardless, whether you consider the former functionally equivalent to the latter or not, I oppose the creation of more of either one.

And, by the way, "olympics winnings" are not like ANY of the following 33 sources of tax-exempt income:

Forbes Welcome

So I would guess you would call most of those (except the "deferred" types of non-taxible income) "protected classes"?

People who receive gifts and inheritances I suppose are protected classes of people. It must be a special class, because I don't get to take advantage of it. The only gifts I receive are payed for with my joint income anyway. I have no living relatives to give me an inheritance. I received no inheritances from my parents or any other relatives. I guess I'm not a a part of that protected class.

I can't ever receive child support payments so it is impossible for me to be a part of that protected class.

My employer doesn't give "achievement awards", but they do give out cash bonuses, which is taxed as income. So I am not part of the "achievement awards" protected class.

I can never receive Veterans benefits so I'm not part of that protected class.

I could go on, but you get the point. Just because I can't participate in those exemptions does not make it a "protected class" of individual. It just means I don't or can't earn income from those tax exempt sources to take advantage of that tax law. It doesn't make the people who can part of a "protected class".

And I'm not going to get too shook up about adding yet another tax exempted income source. And for such income sources I can legally claim, I certainly will.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I wonder if the public outcry, and the political reaction will be the same to the CA veterans who are being told to repay thousands of dollars in enlistment bonuses. I suspect the priority and attention given to falling into water in a controlled fashion or running very quickly will outweigh risking death and dismemberment in a war zone as "good for our country" and feel good exemptions.

 

[jamil]

I wonder if the public outcry, and the political reaction will be the same to the CA veterans who are being told to repay thousands of dollars in enlistment bonuses. I suspect the priority and attention given to falling into water in a controlled fashion or running very quickly will outweigh risking death and dismemberment in a war zone as "good for our country" and feel good exemptions.

I see no reason why hazard bonuses needs to be taxed. Let's exempt that too.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I see no reason why hazard bonuses needs to be taxed. Let's exempt that too.

It's worse than that. They want to force the veterans to return the entire amount of the bonuses in question, which were used to bribe them into re-enlisting.

 

[printcraft]

Assweed probably just doesn't want to pay taxes on his nobel peace prize medal.

 

[JettaKnight]

Assweed probably just doesn't want to pay taxes on his nobel peace prize medal.

Bob Dylan?

 

[Shalashaska]

Good. Its ridiculous that we're the only country that taxes olympic winnings. We also give some of the smallest prizes of any country: we give $25k for a gold, Italy gives $100k+, russia gives $150k+ (and a mercedes), and kazakhstan gives a quarter mil in the hopes that somebody will win a gold medal for them (nobody ever has)

 

[JettaKnight]

Good. Its ridiculous that we're the only country that taxes olympic winnings. We also give some of the smallest prizes of any country: we give $25k for a gold, Italy gives $100k+, russia gives $150k+ (and a mercedes), and kazakhstan gives a quarter mil in the hopes that somebody will win a gold medal for them (nobody ever has)

So you get to 50 by posting the same thing a week later?

Good. We were the only country to tax olympic prizes, and we didn't even give very good ones. $25k for a gold. Italy gives like $120k