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Author
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Topic: Uncle Sam spoils dream trip to space
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mikej
Member Posts: 481
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 01-29-2007 07:42 AM
   
Saw this this morning on cnn.com:
quote:
Brian Emmett's childhood fantasy came true when he won a free trip to outer space.But the 31-year-old was crushed when he had to cancel his reservation because of Uncle Sam. . . . After some number-crunching, Emmett realized he would have to report the $138,000 galactic joy ride as income and owe $25,000 in taxes.
Ouch. Maybe the contest sponsors should take their cue from NASA: Since none of NASA's astronauts are taxed for the value of their ride to space, maybe future contest sponsors should spin their contest as a "job interview" so they could eventually "hire" someone to perform some experiments on the flight :-) |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-29-2007 09:56 AM
Show of hands: Would you be willing to go into $25K debt for a $140K "free" ride into space? My hand is raised. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 01-29-2007 10:35 AM
I'll swear the IRS must have learned from the nuns I had in grade school in being able to take the fun out of life. But I agree Robert I'll raise my hand also. $25K is a lot cheaper than any space travel ticket will cost in our lifetimes.Bill |
ejectr
Member Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 01-29-2007 11:05 AM
My hand is raised..........There must be some way he can stuff it down the IRS's shirt. |
Scott
Member Posts: 3307
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted 01-29-2007 11:23 AM
Not me. As much as I would love to go on a spaceflight, as the father of a young child there's no way I would go $25 thousand in debt for a minutes-long "jump" into space. Just my view. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-29-2007 11:43 AM
I was thinking, if someone gave this man $25,000 to pay his tax bill, how much taxes would he owe on the $25,000 gift? And if someone gave him the money to pay for THAT amount, how much taxes would he owe after that?  |
Scott
Member Posts: 3307
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted 01-29-2007 11:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by mjanovec:
I was thinking, if someone gave this man $25,000 to pay his tax bill, how much taxes would he owe on the $25,000 gift? And if someone gave him the money to pay for THAT amount, how much taxes would he owe after that?
Haha! I didn't think about that, Mark. Too funny.
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Rodina
Member Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 01-30-2007 10:36 AM
quote:
Originally posted by mjanovec:
I was thinking, if someone gave this man $25,000 to pay his tax bill, how much taxes would he owe on the $25,000 gift? And if someone gave him the money to pay for THAT amount, how much taxes would he owe after that?
Yes. You'd then owe taxes on the $25K as income. Call that $10K, then $4K, then $1.5K, etc. What's odd about this is that he doesn't owe taxes on this *NOW*, he owes taxes on it when he actually takes the space flight in, say, 2011 or whenever. Why he cancelled this now, is beyond me. |
Jim
Member Posts: 73
From: San Antonio TX
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 01-30-2007 11:56 AM
I've got BOTH my hands raised! And as for a way to pay the tax, that would be no problem--I'm sure one of my ex-wives would be willing to pay it... [Edited by Jim (January 30, 2007).] |
cddfspace
Member Posts: 609
From: Morris County, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 01-30-2007 12:08 PM
I think we have shown that he would have been better off selling it on ebay- I know I would have bid! For something you have to pay for in 4 years of so, you think he would have held onto it a little longer!CDDFSPACE |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 01-30-2007 08:48 PM
Think about it......25K financed over 5 years is essentially a car payment each month. There's no way in heck I would give up that seat. Maybe a company out there can hire him as their "Marketer" for the 25K and his suit would be decked out in the company's logo.I don't think this young lad thought out his options long enough. Damn....I wish I had his luck. |
mikej
Member Posts: 481
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 02-07-2007 06:04 AM
quote:
Originally posted by mikej:
Maybe the contest sponsors should take their cue from NASA: Since none of NASA's astronauts are taxed for the value of their ride to space, maybe future contest sponsors should spin their contest as a "job interview" so they could eventually "hire" someone to perform some experiments on the flight :-)
Someone must have read my post (or my idea wasn't all that novel :-), but the company has now hired Brian Emmett as a test passenger on the space flight. All he has to do is offer "feedback during the testing phase of the project." |
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