THE OLYMPICS ACT
A member of the United States Congress, who is a Republican representative for Tennessee, is promoting a Bill called the “Officially Limiting Yearly Money Procured by Individuals Concerning Sportsmanship Act.” For short, the Bill is known as the “OLYMPICS Act”.
He explained the purpose of his Bill as follows:
“Any American who works with a foreign adversary has not only betrayed our country but must be stripped of all benefits from doing so. That is why I am ensuring that the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] takes every dollar earned by athletes like Eileen Gu.”
And added:
“Eileen Gu is a US-born skier who is working for Communist China, a regime that wants to destroy our country …. [and] …. [t]here must be consequences for those who betray the United States and support our adversaries.”
If passed, the Act would create a new Federal tax applied at the rate of 100 per cent on certain income earned by US citizens and lawful permanent residents who compete in major global events on behalf of a “foreign entity of concern,” defined by reference to “covered nations” in 10 U.S.C. 4872(d)(2), which currently include China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
The tax would apply to amounts received from competing in a “global athletic event” on behalf of a “foreign entity of concern” and it would also apply to sponsorship payments received as a result of, or as an inducement for, competing on behalf of such foreign entity.
A “global athletic event” is broadly defined and includes the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, the World Cup, the Tour de France, and Wimbledon.
The Act would apply to an individual, who is a US national or lawful permanent resident, that is a ‘green card holder’. If an athlete falls into either of those categories and is competing on behalf of a covered foreign country in the kinds of events listed, the Act is designed to take virtually all the money that is earned from that representation.
The IRS would enforce the Act through standard reporting and collection channels, just like any other Federal taxes.
Gu was born, lives, trains and attends school in the US. But she wears the flag of China, a communist country, so she can collect massive pay checks. She has reportedly criticised the US, whilst remaining silent on China’s many documented human rights violations.
There are other US athletes who are competing for other nations in the Olympics and other international sports competitions, because they are not good enough to qualify for US teams; however, this is not the case with Gu, who, arguably, is the best female freestyle skier in the world, having won a gold and two silver medals at the 2026 and two gold and one silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
It should be pointed out that, as with many proposals in Congress, the OLYMPICS Act could turn out to be more about drawing public attention to an issue rather than of being passed into law!
For further information, email our International Sports Law Consultant, Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw, at blackshaw@valloni.ch.