Medal-winning athletes at the Olympics and Paralympics will not have to pay tax on the stipends they receive for their achievements, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman decided last week.
Medal wins at the major sporting events are not supplemented by cash awards but like many countries, Israel offers grants to its medal winners through its Olympic committee. At this summer’s Tokyo Games, gymnasts Linoy Ashram and Artem Dolgopyat were each awarded NIS 500,000 for winning gold medals, and Taekwondo bronze medalist Avishag Semberg received NIS 250,000. The 11 members of the judo team that won a bronze medal were each rewarded with NIS 50,000 each. A silver medal winner would have been entitled to NIS 400,000.
The same monetary awards are also given to medalists at the Paralympic Games now ongoing and a number of medals have been won by Israeli competitors.
Until now, athletes were required to pay a 30% tax on their awards but the new exemption will allow the athletes to keep all their winnings, in line with the trend recently set in the United States and other countries.
“This summer is full of national pride in Israeli sports. However, it is not enough just to get excited and applaud, but to reach those athletes that we will recognize and appreciate in deeds as well,” Liberman said in a statement.
“The hard work, the many hours on the mat or in the water, the many injuries and moments of crisis, these are moments that the public does not see on the screen. “Therefore, I passed today a memorandum to amend the Income Tax Ordinance, which exempts a grant that is paid to athletes for winning a medal at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This step is not only for them, it is for all of us.”
The United States passed a law in 2016 exempting its medal winners from having to pay tax on their awards.
Israeli medal winners are compensated relatively well. In comparison, American gold medal winners are given $37,500, silver medal winners $22,500, and bronze medal winners $15,000, although they stand to make much more from commercial endorsements.