Phil Mickelson is Paying 61 Percent of His Scottish Tournament Winnings to Taxes

The United Kingdom—a land rich in history and tradition, with a tax code that will have you swimming the English Channel on a pool noodle when it comes time to report earnings.

The UK’s tax rates are brutal, and no one right now is feeling the sting quite as acutely as Phil Mickelson, according to Rick Chandler of Sports Grid.

Mickelson has dominated the competition in Scotland over the past two weeks, taking first at both the Scottish Open and the British Open for a grand total of $2,167,500 (£1,445,000) in winnings.

That’s a lot of dough, right? Yes, it’s a handsome sum of money, of which Mickelson will receive less than half after paying taxes.

According to K. Sean Packard of Forbes, Mickelson will end up paying 45 percent of his winnings in taxes to the British government.

The bleeding doesn’t stop there, however.

Once back in the United States, Lefty will pay a 13.3 percent state tax on his winnings to California, along with a 2.9 percent self-employment tax and a 0.9 percent Medicare surtax. 

All said and done, Mickelson is paying 61 percent of his earnings for the last two weeks to one government or another, with most of the taxing done before he even reaches American soil.

Scotland handed Mickelson money, and over half of the funds were in either London or Sacramento by the time he opened his wallet.

Image via adventuretime.wikia.com

Mickelson has said before that he has considered leaving California to avoid taxes, and he did just recently put one of his California homes on the market.

It’s not his primary home, but hey—he has to staunch the bleeding somehow. The UK is milking Lefty hard, and it's certainly not going to let up with a new baby on its hands.

Someone has to pay for the royal Pampers.

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