EDITORIAL: A tax on victory

Apparently, it takes the Olympics for Democrats to recognize the punitive nature of the U.S. tax code.

Hundreds of Americans are proudly representing their country at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. And they’re doing a tremendous job, having garnered 35 medals as of Thursday afternoon — 13 gold, 12 silver, 10 bronze — to put them atop the world, nine more than China.

American medalists, however, get more than just a gold, silver or bronze. They also get a tax bill. That’s because there are cash awards for those medals — $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. The IRS taxes medalists on the cash award and on the value of the medal itself.

So Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced and helped pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would exempt U.S. Olympic and Paralympic medalists from taxes on their cash awards and value of their medals.

“Most countries subsidize their athletes; the very least we can do is make sure our athletes don’t get hit with a tax bill for winning,” the senator said. “After a successful and hard fought victory, it’s just not right for the U.S. to welcome these athletes home with a tax on that victory. We worked hard to pass a bill that would exempt athletes from these tax penalties in the Senate, and now I’m hopeful that this bill will earn strong bipartisan support in the House and quickly become law.”

Hear, hear, senator. And yes, the House of Representatives should follow suit.

But as HotAir.com’s Larry O’Connor writes, Sen. Schumer’s words are quite noteworthy. “It’s refreshing to see a Democrat refer to a federal tax as a penalty and a burden and something that should not be levied against someone merely because they have excelled and won at their chosen vocation. … It isn’t just athletes who work their tails off, sacrifice and end up getting a financial windfall when they ‘win’ in their chosen field.”

Indeed, there are millions upon millions of hard-working Americans who toil without fanfare, and the moment they attain noticeable success, you can rest assured Sen. Schumer and the rest of the Democrats will be looking for ways to get their “fair share.”

There’s a saying on Capitol Hill that the most dangerous place to be is between Chuck Schumer and a camera. Mr. O’Connor speculates that the senator’s motive here might be little more than pandering to get some of the Olympic spotlight on himself.

Maybe. But the senior senator from New York could prove that’s not the case by standing up and advancing major tax reform for all Americans.

Olympic medalists definitely deserve a break. And so do the rest of us.