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Uncle Sam Spoils Dream Trip To Space
gollum123 writes about a dream come true and a dream dashed. Brian Emmett, a software consultant from the San Francisco Bay area, entered a contest sponsored by Oracle in 2005. He answered some questions on Java coding, won a free trip into space, and then reluctantly gave it up. The latter decision came once he had computed the taxes he would have to pay on the $138,000 prize — roughly $25,000. From the article: "Since the Internal Revenue Service requires winnings from lottery drawings, TV game shows, and other contests to be reported as taxable income, tax experts contend there's no such thing as a free spaceflight. Some contest sponsors provide a check to cover taxes, but that income is also taxable."
It may have been a dream dashed for Brian Emmett, but it most certainly was a dream come true for headline writers. They leave no cliche unturned:
... the final frontier for space rides
* There are no free rides to outer space
* Dream free trip to space brings black hole in wallet
* Win a free ticket to space? Read the fine print
* Taxes
* Space tourism yet to take off
* Free trips to space pose some taxing dilemmas
etc etc etc.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
So am I. Is the consolation prize a sheet of acid tabs and a DVD of 2001? It always works for me.
Some contest sponsors provide a check to cover taxes, but that income is also taxable.
Fortunately, this series eventually converges to values small enough to lose it amid the rounding error on your taxes.
Trip to space: $138,000 Taxes on trip to space: $25,000 Making a spelling error when complaining about someone else's grammar: Priceless