We all proudly cheered on our Egyptian Olympians for the past couple of weeks, as they honoured Egypt in many ways, from simply representing at the biggest sporting event in the world, to winning medals, to even getting featured in Vogue. However, according to Youm7, General Gamal Bahgat, Secretary General of the Ministry of Sports’ Finance Fund stated that there a 10% tax deduction on all cash prizes are due.
These monetary rewards are a form of honorariums given to athletes when they bring home gold, silver, or bronze medals, and Bahgat reassured that they will be indeed received, but they’re obliged to pay a 10% tax by law. Apparently, this deduction is applied to all cash bonuses in relation to any championships received by Egyptian athletes abroad – not just the Olympics.
Other countries grant their athletes similar cash bonuses and some do not grant their athletes any, like the UK, according to the Independent UK but this so-called ‘victory tax’ exists in few countries outside of the US where it also stands at 10%.
Source: Cairo Scene
