Tax-Obsessed Governments Take 61% of Mickelson's Earnings After British, Scottish Open Wins

By winning the Open Championship and the Scottish Open, Phil Mickelson earned approximately $2.16 million over the last two weeks. Of that, he will get to keep approximately $842,000 while the governments of the United Kingdom, Scotland, and California take the rest.

According to CBS Los Angeles, the UK takes 45% of his earnings, Scotland takes a percentage of any income he earned on endorsements while in their country, and California will take 13.3% of his earnings.

When all is said and done, the taxes Mickelson must pay total 61%.

Although Mickelson will be able to avoid paying taxes to the U.S. government via a foreign tax credit for taxes already paid in other countries, his victories have provided windfall profits for tax-obsessed governments around the world. 

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