Current Event for the Week of 1/29/07
Uncle Sam Spoils Dream Trip to Space
According to CNN.com, Brian Emmett, a 31 year-old space buff from LA was unable to go on a trip to outer space that he won on an online sweepstakes due to massive taxes. Emmett would have had to report his $138,00 space trip as income for his taxes thus making him owe $25,000 more in taxes. Emmett was really disappointed that he was unable to go on the trip but $25,000 was just too much.
Read the article here.
Do you think it is right that Emmett should have to pay that much money in taxes just to claim a prize that he won. Do you think it is fair for people who head sweepstakes to even hold sweepstakes if they know that the winner will most likely not be able to claim their prize? You decide.
According to CNN.com, Brian Emmett, a 31 year-old space buff from LA was unable to go on a trip to outer space that he won on an online sweepstakes due to massive taxes. Emmett would have had to report his $138,00 space trip as income for his taxes thus making him owe $25,000 more in taxes. Emmett was really disappointed that he was unable to go on the trip but $25,000 was just too much.
Read the article here.
Do you think it is right that Emmett should have to pay that much money in taxes just to claim a prize that he won. Do you think it is fair for people who head sweepstakes to even hold sweepstakes if they know that the winner will most likely not be able to claim their prize? You decide.
posted by phs_sociology at 1:51 PM
27 Comments:
I personally think that if you WIN a prize that thats the end and the final point. No taxes. If you are a choosen winner then you win, you should not have to pay to win. If thats the case then in due time nobody will ever sign up to win anything. But if they do then their the stupid people who have to pay for a prize. He should never have to pay a cent for a major prize such as that.
i think its unfare that if you win a free space ride or the lottery you have to pay a butt load of taxes. whats the point of winning if you have to pay a bunch of money to get the prize. i think you should get your reward you were promised with no strings attatched.
Well the thing is there is always a catch to something and what people need to unsderstand is you need to read the lisence and agreement when submitting your information. I have learned the hard way. One day a ad popped up on my screen and it said "Take our survey and win a "FREE" Ipod. So I said to myself hey theres no harm in tryin and then I took the survey and then it asked me for my Name and phone number so they could reach me and I would get my prize. So i waited for about a week to discover that the site had put some $30 a month voice mail on my home phone and My parents found out and about killed me. Now this is why you should not fill out any internet surveys or anything without reading the terms and agreement. Even if it says you win a prize. which I did but like I said there is always a catch for EVERTHING. Nothing is just given to you for free!
I think that you should be able to keep a prize if you won it and you definately should not have to pay taxes on them. Paying taxes on something that you win is like paying taxes in a christmas or birthday present. There are so many ads on many various websites that say if you do thid you win something that's in high demand, but you ahve to go through and register yourself up for about 50 other things just to get the one thing you won.
On the other hand though I can see why the founders of this organizations have you pay taxes because thats their way of making money. There are always loopholes in life, and this is one of them.
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WInning a prize is winning a prize and it is not fair at all that he would have to pay that much money to go to freaking space it is stupid. I would fight and still try to go!
I don't think that it's fair to Emmett to have to pay so much for a prize that he won. It just doesn't sound logical. The company should have to pay for the taxes that he would owe. If they are going to advertise a free trip to space, then thay should take care of it for that person.
I dont agree with the fact that he had to pay taxes. If you win a trip, you win a trip there shouldnt be tricks to it just so that people can get your money. I think that they should give his money back because they told him it was a free trip and it wasnt. That is like winning the super bowl and having to pay to get your trophy. I dont think its fair.
I think that the fact that it was supposed to be a FREE ride to space should mean that he should not have to pay a dime on it! I also think that lottery winners and others that win free prizes should not have to pay taxes on them either i think that the government is takeing advantage of peoples greed as a way to fullfil thier own personal greed. i think that our government will take any excuse they can to take our money away from us but then again our money really has no value because it is not backed by gold so virtually we may as well be paying with air!So no i dont think that anyone who wins a free prize should have to pay taxes its supposed to be FREE for hevean sakes!
I think that the concept of a sweepstakes is to give an average person something that they might otherwise not be able to afford. Winning a contest means that you win period. Though I can see that a company might not be able to give a complete 100% free ride into space I think that they should at least give some sort of warning that the contest will require payment so that people will know ahead of time that they are ineligable for the prize.
i dont think that he should have to pay 25 grand to get his prize. if someone enters a contest and wins something they should just be able to get the prize for free. what is the point of having a contest if no one will be able to pay for the prize. not many people can afford $25,000. also, they should tell people how much it would cost before they enter so that the prize is not wasted and people who are actually willing to pay will be the people that enter.
I definitely don’t think Emmett should have to pay taxes when he won a FREE trip to outer space. Oracle Corp. falsely advertised and Emmett has sadly had to pay the consequences. Oracle Corp. should not have had the sweepstake if they can’t follow through with the prize they promised with no strings attached. If I was Emmett I would try and fight the company somehow and get his free trip to space!
I understand the need to tax people on a joy ride such as one to space, but for someone who was able to win it in a contest is what makes no sense. They didn't pay for it in the first place, and they entered just to get it and not pay for it, and in the end they still have to be able to afford even some amount of the trip? It's not fair, in my opinion. It was a free trip, it should've stayed a free trip. No strings attached.
I’m pretty skeptical about everything. I have a hard trusting anything, especially the government and something found on the internet. I do think it is horrible that his childhood dream was crushed..and he should be given the trip of a lifetime time for that very reason.
everytime you enter something in hopes of winning you always have to pay money, but that was a little too much. and if it's a sweepstakes you're not really supposed to pay anything. but that's the only way that government makes money.
IF you win something, that should mean you don't have to pay for any of it. It shouldn't matter what you won, you still shouldn't have to pay for it. It's not winning if you have to pay.
I think its really dumb that he has to pay extra taxes for something that he won...same as on the price is right or somethin like that...you win a FREE car but then have to pay all the taxes on it and then its not free at all...i think that all of those giveaways should not have to be run through income tax and they should just be given the way that they are presented...FREE. As for the guy that won the space ride i think it really bites that he doesnt get to go but he should have known that he was gonna have to deal with all that tax crap and should have expected for this to happen...i kinda feel bad for the guy but then again i dont
I feel bad for Emmett. He had been waiting since childhood to go to ourterspace, now after WINNING a contest, he is finally allowed to, but wait....he must pay taxes??? That's a bunch of BOLONGA!!! I never knew about any of the taxing things before, so I didn't think anything of it, but now that I know about it, I think it's nothing but a big Scam!! If somebody wins something, then that means they get to have it without any problems of hidden contracts. I guess now its just a lesson learned for Emmett and anyone else who reads this article...that IRS...they're sneaky!
I think you should get what you win and that be that. I understand the whole tax thing though because its just like winning the lottery. You "win" 24 million but after taxes you get about 10-12 of that million. I don't think it's fair but it is something you have to watch out for. This seems like another example that nothing you get in life is free.
If you win something you should not have to pay for it. its like if you give someone a gift and say oh im sorry you are going to have to pay some taxes for that. also if its they say its free its free i doesnt mean there are any catches to it it means its free and you dont have to pay a cent. HE should not have to pay a dime for a free space trip especially as something as big as that.
I don't think it is fair. I believe that a person should not hold a contest if they are aware of the fact that the winner will most likely be unable to claim their prize. It is false advertising. I feel bad that the guy will be unable to get his prize. The world is full of stuff like this though. Everything has a catch and you never get anything absolutly free.
I think that a prize is a prize, something you won. It is not something you pay for. I dont think that a person should have to pay to get the prize that they won. I think that the people holding the contest should be responsible for making sure the taxes are paid for.
I do think that's really stupid. If you win a prize, it should be all expenses paid, especially in a sweepstakes. There's no point in even having a sweepstakes if you're going to charge 25,000 in taxes. You might as well pay for it yourself, so that makes is like you pretty much didn't win at all.
I dont think its fair because you get that mopney givin to you. BUt also You wont get it back you have to pay for it and thats not right.
No he shouldn't have to pay massive amounts of taxes just because he won a prize. It's very unfair that he would have to pay so much, on something that very few people get to experience. It's not right that people make prizes that are unclaimable. Just like the space trip and having to pay so much in taxes just to go. There is no point in having a prize that no one can claim.
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I think that anyone that wins something from any company or cherity should not have to pay for it. They worked to get that prize and it was given to him for all that hard work. When they are given a prize the IRS should stay away from it cuz it was given. The prize winner should not have to pay one penny for that prize in taxes or other wize. It was won and that is how it should stay, free.
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