The Hollywood swag luggage aren’t as ‘free’ as marketed.
Many individuals in all probability dream of going to a serious Hollywood occasion and getting one of many free “swag bags” all of us hear about, stuffed with costly objects from main manufacturers.
But within the case of the 2023 “Everyone Wins” present luggage given out to all the nominees on the Academy Awards, they don’t seem to be as free as they initially appear.
According to Forbes, the whole lot within the present luggage is taxable earnings, and loads was included on this yr’s luggage–about $126,000 value.
The publication calculated how a lot the Oscar nominees could be required to pay in taxes to each the IRS and the state of California for what was marketed as a present.
Based on the 37 % IRS tax fee, the swag luggage would value $46,620 per particular person. Add the California tax fee of about 13.3 %, which might be round $16,000, and the entire tax may very well be as much as $63,378.
Included within the Oscars present luggage this yr had been therapies for chemical peels, laser pores and skin resurfacing, Botox, and extra from Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich value as much as $10,000, a $12,000 arm liposuction process, and a keep at The Lifestyle in Canada value round $40,000, amongst different issues.
Related: How Much the 2023 Oscars Statuette Is Really Worth
Celebrities like Oscar nominees Austin Butler and Angela Bassett can decline the gifts or solely settle for sure objects, retaining in thoughts that they should pay taxes for them.
On the opposite hand, the businesses donating the providers or different merchandise hoping to get some promotion out of it could write them off as enterprise bills.
In a press release, Lash Fary, the CEO of the corporate behind the Oscars swag luggage, Distinctive Assets, stated of the presents, “While this gift bag does, as always, have an impressive value, that is neither our focus nor goal. This is a straightforward win/win.”
Fary went on, “These nominees are in a unique position to help participating brands immeasurably by simply wearing, using and talking about these products. Marketing and advertising can and must co-exist with the ever-present reporting of bad news globally. This isn’t frivolity; it is basic economics.”
The Oscars gave out official presents till 2006 as a result of a conflict with the IRS over whether or not or not they had been taxable, and now, outdoors corporations like Distinctive Assets arrange the present luggage for the large occasions.
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