5% 리워드 주는 크레딧카드로 $6.4 Million 을 결제한 뒤 $300,000+ 리워드를 챙겼는데 IRS에서 세금 내놔라 해서 소송이 붙었던 모양입니다.

"His American Express card offered unlimited 5% rewards at grocery stores and pharmacies after he had spent $6,500. So Mr. Anikeev used his AmEx card to buy prepaid Visa gift cards at grocery stores, routinely stopping during his commute and purchasing the maximum allowed per day at a store. He often used the gift cards to buy money orders, then used the money orders to make deposits in his bank account, then used that money to pay his credit-card bill."

출퇴근 길에 가게에 들려 살 수 있는 만큼 최대한 사고. 기프트 카드 -> 머니 오더 -> 계좌 디파짓 이렇게 했네요.

"Judge Goeke issued a split ruling. Rewards earned on purchases of Visa gift cards aren’t taxable, he ruled, because the cards are products; most but not all of Mr. Anikeev’s transactions happened that way. Rewards earned on purchases of money orders or reloading debit cards are taxable, the judge determined. The IRS already says rewards can be taxable if they are earned without spending, such as a bonus for opening a bank account."

판사는 반반의 판결을 내렸지만, IRS 입장에서 좀 더 진 것 같아 보입니다.

마지막으로 판사의 입장문 내용 중 일부를 공유합니다.

"This policy reflects the recognition that a taxpayer who avails himself or herself of a discount in acquiring goods and services has no accession to wealth. That taxpayer has retained more of his or her wealth than a taxpayer who pays full price for the same good or service, but that taxpayer has no additional income; he or she simply has reduced consumption. Although as Benjamin Franklin wisely observed, “[a] penny saved is two pence clear” (which became known more colloquially as “a penny saved is a penny earned”), the income tax law imposes a tax only on the future penny earned, not on the current penny saved."

세상은 넓고 참 다양한 사람들이 있는 것 같습니다.