Man's Space Dreams dashed for 25K...To hell with it!! Go to space and be in debt for 25k!! GEEEZ!!!

[watchdog2 0]

What an IDIOT!!! He gives up his dreams just becuz he doesn't wanna go into debt for a MEASLY 25k!!!!...Now if it was 100K, well I understand...You only live once (I think) so to hell with it!! Go to space and pay back the 25k!!!!!....Every man dies, not every man REALLY lives.

I guess it had to do with the IRS...yeah that's big. BUt damn, get a loan or something and pay off the IRS quick.

Here's the article:


LOS ANGELES - Brian Emmett’s childhood fantasy came true when he won a free trip to outer space. He was crushed when he had to cancel his reservation because of Uncle Sam.

Emmett won his ticket to the heavens in a 2005 sweepstakes by Oracle Corp., in which he answered a series of online questions on Java computer code. He became an instant celebrity, giving media interviews and appearing on stage at Oracle’s trade show.

For the self-described space buff who has attended space camp and watched shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center, it seemed like a chance to become an astronaut on a dime. Then reality struck.

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. Unwilling to sink into debt, the 31-year-old software consultant from the San Francisco Bay area gave up his seat.

“There was definitely a period of mourning. I was totally crestfallen,” Emmett said. “Everything you had hoped for as a kid sort of evaporates in front of you.”

Space dreams and earthly taxes
With commercial spaceships still under development, it’s uncertain when the infant space tourism industry will actually get off the ground. Still, ultra-rich thrill-seekers are already plunking down big — though refundable — deposits to experience a few minutes of weightlessness 60 miles above Earth.

And in recent years, space tourism companies have teamed with major corporations to stage contests with future suborbital spaceflights as the grand prize.

The partnerships have interstellar hype — but as Emmett found out, they can get mired in that most earthbound hassle: taxes.


Jeff Chiu / AP
Brian Emmett decided to give up his free suborbital space ticket after figuring out that he'd owe $25,000 in taxes.
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“From a consumer perspective ... I’d be wary,” said Kathleen Allen, director of the University of Southern California’s Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization. “I’d check to see the fine print.”

Since the Internal Revenue Service requires winnings from lottery drawings, TV game shows and other contests to be reported as taxable income, tax experts contend there’s no such thing as a free spaceflight. Some contest sponsors provide a check to cover taxes, but that income is also taxable.

“I don’t see how an average person can swing that kind of tax payment. It’s a big, big bite,” said tax attorney Donna LeValley, contributing editor for J.K. Lasser’s annual tax guide.

To reduce the financial burden, winners can argue that they don’t owe any taxes until their flight lifts off. Another option is working out an installment plan to pay taxes over time, said Greg Jenner of the American Bar Association.

The IRS declined to comment, saying it does not talk about individual matters.

Contests as a route to space
Despite Emmett’s cancellation, Oracle said its contest was a success. The software giant is in the process of naming his replacement and still has two other winners on board from Asia and Europe.

That spaceflight will be provided by Virginia-based Space Adventures, the same company that brokers deals for trips on Russian rockets to the orbiting international space station for a reported $20 million per customer.

Eric Anderson, the company’s chief executive, insists that contests are the best way for most people to get into space. He said Space Adventures has given away about 20 reservations through competitions, and the majority of winners are satisfied.

[steveorino 7]

I bet I could make $25K selling a book about my adventure.

steveOrino

[watchdog2 0]

Exactly my point!! 25k is NOT a lot of money!!!

[akarunway 1]

So. Was he allowed to sell his ticket? Or was it one of those non-refundable ones? I'd damn sure come up w/ 25K for that ride

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[NewGuy2005 51]

That guy could never take up skydiving with that kind of attitude about money.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

Exactly my point!! 25k is NOT a lot of money!!!

$25K is a guess that's probably low by a factor of two.

Assuming he's a competant consultant most of that $138,000 is going to be taxed at 33% - which is a $46,000 tax bill just for the Feds. After California steals its 9% his tab for one shot into space is $50K which would take $86K in gross income to generate.

I'd have more fun on ten only somewhat exotic vacations (Things like big-wall base trips with a chartered Jet Ranger).

[kelpdiver 2]

It's an especially nasty price to pay if you conclude the tax bill is due now. For an event that isn't even a given. For a suborbital flight.

If eligible, I wouldn't even pay the $500 or 600 to jump from 30k...not when I can and have done 24k for $75.

Even if the tax bite is not due until the actual event, that $138k value might skyrocket.

Oracle should have paid the whole sum.