I've enjoyed watching Team USA's outstanding performance in the Olympics this year and I know many of you have as well. Besides being thrilling to watch, I've learned a lot while watching the games. One thing I learned is that our Olympic athletes have to pay a substantial federal tax on the cash award that comes with their medals. Each gold medalist receives $25,000, silver medalists get $15,000 and bronze medallists get $10,000. Currently, the government gets 35% of their winnings. While it's true that some of these athletes will earn multi-million dollar endorsement deals, the vast majority of them will not and in fact have already spent a lot of time and money in training. The "Tax Exemptions for American Medallists Act," also known as the TEAM Act" would protect these outstanding men and women from having to pay taxes on their prize money. Let your elected officials know you support the TEAM Act. Taxing those who bring honor and recognition to the nation is wrong. It should be stopped before our athletes get back from London. I'm Vanessa Oubre and that's my take. What's yours?
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