U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio wants to give America's Olympic champions a tax break on their winnings.
Americans who win gold, silver or bronze at the Olympics get a cash award from the U.S. Olympic Committee of tens of thousands of dollars.
The Republican lawmaker introduced a bill Wednesday that would exempt medal winners from paying taxes on the honorariums, calling the penalty ridiculous.
A gold medalist gets a $25,000 honorarium, a silver medalist $15,000 and a bronze winner $10,000, according to the USOC.
So for the Fab Five gymnasts who won Tuesday in London -- McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber -- that's a total honorarium of $125,000.
Americans for Tax Reform, a group that opposes tax increases, calculated that an athlete's tax bill for winning a gold medal totals $8,936, including $8,750 based on a 35 percent tax on the honorarium, and $236 for the value of the medal.
Based on that, the Fab Five would owe Uncle Sam $44,680 collectively.
Rubio's office says that the Olympics are unique, with U.S. athletes volunteering to represent the country, and that success should be celebrated, not taxed.
