Olympic skier Nick Goepper may score Indiana tax break

Olympic medalists from Indiana soon could come home to more than just an adoring public and a proud hometown.

They could be getting a tax break.

The Indiana House on Thursday voted to exempt Olympic medals and prize money from Indiana income taxes.

The tax break would be retroactive to Jan. 1, which means it would apply for now to just one person: Nick Goepper, the 19-year-old from Lawrenceburg who won a bronze medal in slopestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Other Hoosier medalists such as West Lafayette diver David Boudia will have to win another medal if they want to qualify.

"It would definitely be a blessing," Boudia said of the legislation. He won two medals at the 2012 London Olympics, a gold on 10-meter platform and a bronze in the synchronized event.

In addition to Goepper's bronze medal, he will receive $10,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee. Gold medal winners receive $25,000, silver medal winners $15,000.

A legislative analysis of the tax break lists its cost to the state as "insignificant."

Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, tacked the Olympic tax break onto another tax-related measure, Senate Bill 161, on Wednesday.

"We give hundreds of millions of dollars every year to people who come and ask for tax incentives," Austin said. "We have one medalist. I hope we are going to get a chance to honor him before we leave this session."

That didn't make sense to some lawmakers.

"I don't have anything against Olympic athletes," said Rep. Thomas Washburn, R-Inglefield. "I don't know why we should give them special tax treatment when every other Hoosier who is working at their job and receives a bonus award or a cash award has to pay taxes. I don't get it."

The amended bill passed the House, but a final decision likely won't be made until next month, when House and Senate leaders meet to work out the differences between their two versions of the bill.

The debate over whether Olympic medals and prizes should be taxed is not limited to the Indiana Statehouse.

U.S. Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has introduced a measure that would exempt Olympic winnings from federal income taxes.

President Barack Obama has expressed support for the measure.

Star reporter David Woods contributed to this story.Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.